Go back a couple of years – how did you keep up with what was happening “around the traps”?
For many recyclers, auction days were the day to catch up with industry mates and (in between bids) have a coffee or a sandwich and chew the fat over industry issues.
What happens now? You don’t go to the auctions – you sit at a computer the night before an auction deciding what to bid on the next day - and this isn’t just once a week. Instead of going out to inspect vehicles you may have an agent who looks them over before bidding starts. You then hover near your computer for a few more hours during the auction plugging in numbers and hoping your pencil is sharper than the next guy’s.
Are you making more money? Are you more efficient? Is this good for your business? Or is all the benefit going to the insurers and the auction houses?
It has certainly changed the way our industry works. It helps some and disadvantages others. But one thing is certain, the online auctions have destroyed a lot of the socialisation and regular contact between auto recyclers. As Ross Nicastri noted in a recent discussion, “auctions were a real social occasion – they were a great opportunity for networking. That’s gone now.”
Ray Broughton said in his recent interview for Auto Recycling Australia magazine: “This is still a fantastic and unique industry. One of its most unique features is the level of communication, information exchange and co-operation that operates between recyclers. That is how we differ from any other motor trades sector. The businesses in most sectors don't need to talk to each other as part of their day to day activities. But in this industry we are constantly communicating with each other. We talk and deal with each other all the time.”
It remains a great industry, but the culture is changing and the auction houses aren’t helping!!!
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