COMMENT Anyone who reckons they know for certain how 2022 is going to pan out probably needs to take more water with their evening tipple, for the one certain thing we do know from the past two years is that we don’t know.
However, to put Covid into some historical context, the first auctions are known to have taken place in Roman times, and the word auction first appeared in the Oxford English Dictionary in the late 16th century. Auctions grew in popularity in the 17th century, often held in the coffee houses that were emerging in London at the time and reported on by The London Gazette.
With this depth of history, we see no reason why the disruption of the last couple of years will do anything to prevent the return of the “real thing”. There will eventually be life after (or perhaps with) Covid, when it will be safe to back into the auction room and the hardships of the last couple of years will become a memory.
Back in the room
We feel there will be a trend to return. We hear from both sellers and buyers that they miss the atmosphere and cut-and-thrust of the live-room auction. Our auctions have always been more than a sale. They are an event, an opportunity for investors, dealers, solicitors and for us to network and to establish new business relationships and grow existing ones, which simply isn’t possible in the virtual world.
But there is no doubt in our minds that these events will become more of a hybrid. The advances in our technology and processes will allow our successful online offering to run alongside the traditional buzz of the room.
This may lead to fewer attending in person. This will have its advantages, in that the in-room fan will have a more comfortable experience, but it will also please those who prefer not to travel and opt to bid from the golf club, office or comfort of their own home, whether here in the UK or overseas.
But to return to those early worrying days, when the reality of what was happening and the disruption not only to our lives but to the entire economy and the way we work was just registering with us all. With the onset of the pandemic in March 2020, there was an urgent need to address the situation as all auction houses were forced to introduce online auctions.
We decided to adopt the livestreamed model, rather than eBay-style timed auctions, because it best replicates the room in that bidders can tune in and watch the auctioneer live on the rostrum.
We had introduced the online bidding facility approximately 10 years previously, to run alongside bidders in the room, which always represented the vast majority of bidders.
The online registration process was cumbersome and long winded and, with a move to online auctions only, there was the urgent need to develop and introduce a slicker, more user-friendly process of both registering and bidding.
The old form filling ways were consigned to history and very quickly we had an online system fit for purpose and capable of managing the increased volume the livestream-only auctions would inevitably bring.
Best of both worlds
From our first online auction, we have experienced tremendous success, and our staff, sellers and buyers adapted quickly to the new ways and processes. Our room auctions typically had about 1,200 to 1,500 attendees. Of those, perhaps 800 to 900 would actually register to bid. The introduction of online registration saw the number of registered bidders rocket immediately, with approximately 3,000 signing up in each auction. A notable trend was that buyers from further afield and overseas were attracted to our sales.
This increase in demand has led to an increase in achievable prices, which has in turn led to a greater number of instructions. Indeed, 2020 was a record year for us, but this was smashed in 2021 where we raised £175m in sales – a 57% increase on the previous year – and achieved an average sales success rate of 95%. Despite results like this, we are determined and optimistic of making a return to room auctions during the course of this year.
Ian Tudor is joint managing director of auctions at Bond Wolfe
