- How
do I get buyers signed up?
- How much will it cost
me?
- When should I post
my vehicles?
- How many photos should
I take?
- What info should
I place when posting a vehicle?
- What info should
I place on my auction?
- What do I do if
the person who won the bid doesn't pay?
- How will this benefit
my company?
- What about my
buyers without computers or high speed internet?
- I own two different tow
companies do I have to sign up twice?
- What if the car is
picked up before the auction?
- What if I want to add a
car to my auction?
- When is my payment due?
- Will I be able
to see how my auction is going?
- How can I tell who won
the car?
- Am I the first tow
lot in my area?
- A buyer didn't pay,
what can I do?
- A buyer from
another state purchased one of our vehicles, how should I handle
this?
- How do I get top dollar
for my vehicles?
- Can I sell a vehicle
other than my impounded vehicles?
- How much time
should I allow the winning bidder to pay?
- Should I let
potential buyers view vehicles in person?
- Is there a
limit to the number of cars I can place in my auction?
- How long
does it take to enter an auction?
How do I
get buyers signed up?
There are numerous ways to get buyers signed
up. The easiest way is the buyers you already have, let them know
your auctions are now on-line at TowLot.Com. If you have to advertise
your auctions, be sure to change them accordingly so that it shows
the auction will be held online. Placing small ads in local newspapers
or publications is very helpful also. If your company has a web
site feel free to link directly to TowLot.Com. Eventually as more
tow companies sign up in your area; it will add more buyers that
now have access to your auctions as well. This is where it will
benefit all tow lots that join in or around your surrounding area.
Not to mention you're new out of state buyers. As more and more
tow companies sign up, we at TowLot.Com plan to launch a nationwide
advertising campaign that will benefit every tow company that is
a member of TowLot.Com
How much will it cost
me?
There is a minimal fee of $149.95 to hold an
auction. In addition there is a $10.00 flat fee per vehicle that
you place on the web site. An exception is a misc item, that you
retrieve from the vehicle, you can list any misc item for $1.00,
such as tools, stereos, or anything you may think of as value. (example
your Auction has 80 cars you would pay $949.95, 149.95 auction fee
and $10.00 x 80 cars). These fee's are much lower than what a traditional
auctioneer would charge, most we find are from 10% to 15% plus other
fees. If you sold 80 cars for $30,000.00 you would have to pay an
auctioneer anywhere from 3 to 4 thousand dollars. Our website would
only cost you a flat $949.95. That puts more money into your pockets.
When should I post
my vehicles?
You can post them as early as you would like.
There is an option to choose when the auction should start. If you
post them a weeks before you plan to begin your auction they will
still be on the internet for viewers, but they will not be able
to bid until your specified start time. We suggest you list your
vehicles to go live on the internet for pre bids for at least 5
days. Only allowing a day or two could hurt your sales. Still the
decision is always yours.
How many photos should
I take?
You are allowed up to eight photos, the more
the better. If it has enough photos that the viewer will not have
to come to your lot to look at the unit then it would be better
for you and them. Even on vehicles that will be sold for scrap a
front, back, and two sides should be done. One photo is the minimum,
bet we suggest that you take as many as you can up to the eight
picture max on every vehicle no matter what shape it is in. The
reason for this is if you only take one picture of the front of
a vehicle, there may be many potential buyers, who are looking for
parts from the rear or sides of the vehicle. Numerous photos will
cut down on unwanted phone calls asking questions about other sides
of the vehicle. Salvage dealers are always looking for parts
What
info should I place when posting a vehicle?
As much as you know is best? Be as accurate
as you can, on what you may know about the vehicle. Of course the
buyers need to understand that all these vehicles were towed for
one reason or another. When you fill in the fields to post a vehicle
we have the most important ones for you, plus there is a box to
fill in any additional info if you would like. If you want to just
put the year make and model that is fine to. Once again the more
info will cut down on calls and foot traffic to look at the vehicles.
What info should
I place on my auction vehicles?
You should place any info that you need your
buyers to know. Do you have titles? Paperwork? Bill of sale only?
Is there a buyer's fee? When can they view the vehicles? When do
they have to pay by and what type of payments do you accept? Etc...
What do I do if
the person who won the bid doesn't pay?
You will have the option of going back to see
who the last bidder was, you can email them and see if they are
still interested in buying the vehicle because the winning bidder
did not pay, and has been removed from the auction site. You can
hold the vehicle and place it in your next sale. TowLot.Com strictly
monitors buyers who have registered to bid; we require them to sign
up with a credit card to verify who they are and to cut down on
non payers. You will have access to the buyer's phone number and
address. We have found that if a buyer doesn't pay for a vehicle
it is easiest to just place it in the next sale, as it didn't happen
very often.
How will using TowLot.Com
benefit my company?
It has been proven that other similar internet
auto auctions have generated more revenue per vehicle, as well as
bringing in a huge buyers market. We have found that buyers come
from everywhere when they have the ease of buying online. They now
have the luxury of buying online and it makes it so convenient.
In the near future you will have thousands of potential buyers from
all over the United States including Canada & Mexico.
What about my
buyers without computers or high speed internet?
We have found that most buyers will find a
computer to be able to bid. Even if they don't have high speed internet,
they will go in and do pre bids Dial up internet works but is not
good for the lightning auction because of the speed it goes at,
Dial up users may get left behind, but it will still work fine on
the pre bidding. We suggest you tell your buyers with dial up internet
to take advantage of pre bidding , and put the max they are willing
to spend for that vehicle just in case they are unable to participate
in the lightning auction.
I own two different tow
companies do I have to sign up twice?
Yes, you need to register each location. There
are no extra fees for doing this. By registering each location it
will cut down on any buyer confusion of where your sale is being
held.
What happens if I
have to remove a vehicle from the auction list for one reason or
another?
Unfortunately we still have to charge you the
$10.00 listing fee. Some tow companies pass this fee onto the customer
as an additional expense. If you go to your admin screen, there
is an option to delete a vehicle from the sale, an email will be
sent to the current high bidder (if there is one) explaining to
them the vehicle was removed from the sale, because of certain reasons.
The buyer's terms states that vehicles can be pulled from the sale
at any time for any reason.
What if I want to add a
car to my auction?
If you go to your admin screen you can add
vehicles at anytime before the lightning auction. Keep in mind the
longer they are on there the better chance it has of going for a
better price. You will still be charged a $10.00 a vehicle insertion
fee.
When is my payment due?
Before your vehicles are placed on the internet
for people to view you will have to pay by credit card or mail payment,
once payment is received your vehicles will be posted on the internet
for all to see. They will begin pre bidding once your start time
is set to go.
Will I be able to
see how my auction is going?
In the admin screen you will be able to keep
track of how your sell is going; you will be able to see a grand
total and detailed totals or what the vehicles are doing. You will
be able to keep track online of what the vehicles sold for. A printable
page will be available to help with the funds that customers pay.
How can I tell who won
the car?
Buyers will be receiving a printable receipt
that we suggest they take to the tow lot when they pay for the vehicles.
Your list will also have there names on it so you can make sure
who is picking up the vehicle is the actual winner.
Am I the first tow
lot in my area?
You can view the auction locater to see all
registered auctions. If there is no one in your area you now have
the perfect opportunity to get ahead of your competition.
A buyer didn't pay, what
can I do?
In your admin screen there is a report non
payer button, you need to Report them to us, so we can remove them
from the web site, we will not tolerate this. We hope that most
people will not do this but we know its going to happen. Our goal
is to keep it from happening very often. Once you report the non
payer to us we will remove there buying privileges. Our agreement
with the buyers is that if they are a non payer we will charge them
10% or 250.00 of the vehicle selling price, This would only benefit
us by collecting extra fees, but it will still leave you with the
vehicle. So in fairness we decided to just kick the buyer off the
web site. It is important that you let us know when there is a non
payer, so they don't do it again.
A buyer from another
state purchased one of our vehicles, how should I handle this?
This is what our long term goal is for buyers
from all around to have access to your vehicles, no longer will
it just be within a 50 mile radius of your lot, but you could have
buyers from across the country, maybe even Mexico or Canada. You
should allow these buyers extra time for payment and pick up of
vehicles. You can specify overnight checks or immediate payment
by credit card. Most buyers will be happy to oblige. They will usually
have to have a transporter pick up the vehicles, or your company
may make a little more money by delivering the vehicles to the buyer.
You might allow out of area buyers a little more time to pick up
vehicles, if you work with them a little, you're out of area buyers
will appreciate it and be willing to spend more money.
How do I get top dollar
for my vehicles?
First and foremost take good pictures. If you
don't have keys get some made, especially if the vehicle is in descent
shape. You should always be honest with your buyers about what you
know about the vehicles, if anything. Remember word of mouth can
be a good or bad advertisement. You could clean trash and wash the
vehicles before you take pictures. If you know that the vehicle
has a strong engine and good transmission make a note in your notes
section. Offer an incentive to your employees or shop mechanic in
there spare time, if you find there is something minor with the
vehicle fix it. ex. flat tires, alternator, fuses, oil, and coolant
, belts, battery…. All these will improve the sale of the vehicles.
Can I sell a vehicle
other than my impounded vehicles?
You can sell any vehicle you want friend, family,
employee business acquaintance etc... There is only a minimal $10.00
insertion fee on top of the Auction set up fee
How much time should
I allow the winning bidder to pay?
That is really up to the tow lot. We suggest
payments must be made in full within 72 hours of the end of the
sale It is still up to the Tow Lot, you can set it up however you
would like in your terms section. It will be the buyers responsibility
to check with each tow companies own terms, before bidding.
Should I
let potential buyers view vehicles in person?
We hope that you say yes, because it is only
going to increase your auction profits. Some buyers may actually
want to view the vehicles in person. By doing this you will build
a relationship with buyers and they will put there trust in you
and will most certainly be a repeat customer.
Is there a
limit to the number of cars I can place in my auction?
The answer to that is 500 is the max the system
will allow. Usually placing more than 300 vehicles per auction will
slow things down and may take a while to enter. If your company
has a 300 car sale every other week we suggest splitting it up to
150 cars a week, now with the auction being online it will be possible.
You could do 25 cars a day if you wanted, but we have found that
keeping your sale at about 150 vehicles is ideal.
How long does
it take to enter an auction?
That really depends on how well off you are
with computers. We have made it simple to post an auction and its
vehicles. We have found that an auction of 150 vehicles takes anywhere
from 6 hours to 10 hours to post and finalize all the vehicles.
That was with the max 8 pictures for each unit.
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