About Us
ABOUT US
For those who like to read the last chapter first, here’s the Spoiler Alert of the founding goals of FlatFeeAuctionWorld.com:
*No Commissions to Buyers or Sellers.
*Only one low Flat Fee of $99.00 to list an Auction Item (discounts for several items and we only charge half price for Items that sell under $1000)
*Item Inspections required, or strongly suggested, but All Winning High Bidders have a Grace Period AFTER the auction for REFUSAL of PURCHASE if Misrepresentation is discovered by the Seller.
*A Database Resource listing Qualified, Unbiased, Third-Party Inspectors with their Bios and Qualifications transparent and ready for your review.
And now, the rest of the story….
Online auctions and classified ad sales are the only practical way that Buyers can be in many places at once when looking for their new, special purchase. Their fear in an auction is the “unseen” purchase of a misrepresented Item. There are too many factors one looks for to limit their purchase to a small geographic area. It is just too impractical and unreasonable to expect the average Buyer to travel thousands of miles, spend weeks or months, and a lot of money in this search. The rules are too ONE-SIDED against Buyers and most Sellers are intimidated by the current auction process.
Our goal at FlatFeeAuctionWorld is to make ONLINE Auction buying and selling as close to an In-Person/Private Sale experience as possible with less risk, travel, and time spent for Buyers and without the high costs and hassle of dealing with tire-kickers for Sellers. This means there is a little bit of a learning curve to make both parties comfortable with this process. We have CHANGED THE RULES of the online auction process. The changes benefit BOTH the Buyer and the Seller. We can make it BETTER than any Auction or Private (IN-PERSON) sale! Our FlatFeeAuctionWorld system will attract more qualified Buyers and Sellers. That’s great for Everyone!
I lived the Live Horse Auction world and saw the quality and trust degrade over the past years. I also would never buy from an online auction without checking out a horse, or ANY Item, in person. Even then, a quick look wasn’t always enough to see if a horse (or an engine) had been doctored just to run well for the hour I was looking at it. If a Seller did not allow a more thorough exam, that was a Red Flag to me that I just waisted a lot of my time and gas money. And even if I did want to purchase, some places wanted to charge me an extra 3% to 15% on TOP of my purchase price! I can certainly see one reasonable fee to cover your expenses (especially if it is a brick and mortar auction house), but WHAT POSSIBLE JUSTIFICATION does an ONLINE Auction Site have to charge those fees?!?
That was the last straw for me. I’m cheap and I couldn’t see why paying more than $99.00 was justified. So, I started FlatFeeHorseAuction.com and quickly expanded the concept to all other bigger-ticket Items I realized were hard to sell and to Inspect properly when you are a long distance away or don’t possess the proper knowledge. That is how FlatFeeAuctionWorld.com developed along with our sister-company, PrePurchaseInspectors.com, to provide people with a database of unbiased, third-party Experts in their fields to go out and provide you with an affordable, comprehensive report on the Item you are thinking of purchasing.
And that’s how we got here trying to provide you with an affordable, low-risk resource to buy and sell your big, harder-to-sell Items.
THE FOLLOWING IS JUST MORE INFORMATION FOR THOSE WITH INSOMNIA OR FOR THOSE WHO ACTUALLY READ ALL THIS 🙂
BUYERS
Buyers have the right to Refusal of Purchase(RoP) if the Item is misrepresented in the Ad description (See the details for each Subject Item as they are different for vehicles, vessels, horses, and houses, etc). This is accomplished with our Optional Pre Purchase Inspection (PPI) for items other than Horses, and the mandatory Post-Sale Exam (PSE) provision (for horses) just as it would be for an In-Person sale.**BE CONSIDERATE of the Seller’s time. While not grounds for Refusal of Purchase (RoP) in the rest of the auction world, Appearance and Major Cosmetic issues are important to some and should be addressed before an Item is taken off the market just as it would be for an In-Person sale. (Buyers have this cosmetic RoP if requested BEFORE the auction closes, not after the auction unless asked by the Buyer and not disclosed or misrepresented by the Seller).
Buyers MUST ASK for (if not already provided) disclosure and description (with satisfactory, close-up videos/photos) of any subjective issues that are important to you such as cuts, scars, brands, or non-health related visual abnormalities for horses or dents, odors, rust, body repairs, etc. that will come to light at the PSE or the PPI.
Buyers set the market price without having anxiety about insulting someone with a low offer. If a Buyer’s offer is too low, other Buyers will leave them in the dust. Auctions are BETTER than the In-Person sale.
Buyers no longer must fear the unseen and have their search limited to their local area. You know you are dealing with a motivated Seller at auction, not someone who might change their mind or sell the Item before you can get out to see it as in a Classified Sales Ad. Just more reasons why Auctions are BETTER than the In-Person sale.
Our FREE HABO option allows Buyers to save time waiting for the auction to end and privately offer your HIGHEST and BEST OFFER (HABO) anytime while the auction is running. This allows a Buyer to know if you need to move on to another Item and save time if your high bid wouldn’t have been accepted.
SELLERS
Sellers pay ZERO commission and are not required to have a PPE up front. They ARE required to allow the Winning Bidder (Buyer) to perform a PSE (Post Sale Exam) directly after the auction is closed. Sellers only pay a Flat Fee just as it would be for an In-Person sale using a Classified Sales Advertisement. HOWEVER, it is STRONGLY SUGGESTED that Seller’s of Items other than Horses, DO get an Unbiased, Third-Party Inspection BEFORE selling to put the Bidders at ease and potentially sell for a higher amount.
Benefits: Eliminates up-front costs for Sellers. Removes some responsibility for having an Exam that missed something. Gives Buyers confidence the Exam is current and performed by a professional of the Buyer’s choosing just as it would be for an In-Person sale.
Sellers are encouraged to provide a description and good, close-up videos/photos of any cuts, scars, brands, or abnormalities (for horses), and rust, dents, odors, and problems (for vehicles, homes, etc.) and disclose any issues that will come to light at the PSE. These disclosures are required upon request during the auction or can be Grounds for RoP after the auction. You will benefit by BEING HONEST! It will avoid conflicts and save everyone time and aggravation to give a Buyer the same view just as it would be for an In-Person sale.
Sellers don’t have to answer Classified Ad calls and emails asking, “Is this still available?” or other time-wasting questions and then get ghosted. They will no longer wait at home all day for the person who said, “I’m on my way” and never shows up. Nor do they have to be subjected to a low-ball offer after changing their day’s plans just to meet the potential buyer or tire-kicker. Auctions are BETTER than the In-Person sale.
Our FREE HABO option (Highest And Best Offer) lets a Buyer Privately offer you their HABO before your auction ends. This Huge benefit for Sellers means you don’t lose out on a Bidder who sees another Item for sale somewhere TODAY and doesn’t want to wait another week to find out IF they are the high Bidder on your Item! Really good videos showing your Item’s performance will get Buyers excited to believe YOURS is the ONE for them. It’s a WIN-WIN option at no extra cost!
Enjoy listing in the Classified For Sale Ads? Then keep an ad there as well! Just point Buyers to the Auction Dates your Item is with the specific FlatFeeAuctionWorld.com site and get awesome Bonus Marketing Exposure for your Item’s sale!
- It makes no difference if your Item sells privately while in our auction. That’s the same as another bidder coming in or utilizing the HABO option. The reason other auctions restrict you from selling outside the auction time is because they want their commission. We don’t take commissions, so we are happy for you wherever you sell your item!
You reserve the right to end the auction EARLY if you sell your Item through contact from a Bidder or Privately. Feel free to keep your Item listed in Classifieds or Privately during your auction period (if your auction ends, you MUST HONOR the Highest Bidder over any private sale or be subject to PENALTIES). We suggest you amend your outside Ads to mention your Auction Dates and LINK to your Ad on the specific FlatFeeAuctionWorld.com site to drive Even More potential Buyers and add to the excitement of Bidding on your Item!
Sellers can see the real market value during the auction with the excitement of LIVE online bidders who are Buyers with CASH IN HAND and want to buy an Item NOW! If you don’t get what you want, you don’t have to sell. There is no charge to a Seller who sets a Reserve Price higher than the market is willing to pay that month. We suggest that you extend your current auction end date OR wait a month and try again (we allow a 5 repeat auctions for FREE over the 6 months after your first non-sale auction) for any Item that did not meet the reserve price, or maybe your Item needed a repair or your horse got sick and needs time to heal). New Buyers are always popping up and market prices fluctuate. Just more reasons why Auctions are BETTER than the In-Person sale. See Terms and Conditions regarding re-listing unsold auction items over the following 6 months for free.