Whether you are an auction buff who attends dozens of in-person auctions each year or simply someone who likes to hunt for a great deal, you’re likely to enjoy the experience of bidding for goods online at Harmony Online Auctions.
Harmony Online Auctions was launched by Arlis Wangen and his daughter, Kayla Eiken this past February. To date, their company has completed three monthly auctions with a fourth currently underway and running through May 31.
Starting an online auction site has been a dream of Wangen’s for a couple of years. After visiting other online auctions such as Darr Auctions (of Rushford) and one in Oronoco, Wangen decided to start a Harmony based site with his daughter. Eiken noted the appeal of the online auction: “You can sit at home on your computer and bid on your items and not have to sit at a sale for 12 hours waiting for the one item that you want to bid on.”
Harmony Online Auctions is similar to a site like eBay where buyers bid on items listed by a large number of private parties, however, Eiken points out, her site differs in a few important ways: “With eBay you ship items (as opposed to picking them up at Harmony Online Auctions), and eBay is worldwide whereas Harmony Online Auctions is just local,” she said. “One person came all the way from North Dakota” to pick up an item, Eiken recalled, but most buyers and sellers come from the local area. Eiken and Wangen chose to sell goods via an auction process rather than a direct purchase consignment shop because, as Eiken observed, “I think it’s more fun for people. A lot of people say ‘It’s addicting, I get a deal’.”
Here is how the auction process works: Sellers bring items they wish to post online for sale to the auction storehouse at 65 Main Ave. North in Harmony (the old D&D Variety building, previously occupied by Old Ways, New Ideas). The auction house is open from noon to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Sellers may call the auction house at (507) 259-6737 to make an appointment or click on a contact link on the auction house’s website harmonyonlineauctions.com. If they choose, sellers can establish a minimum starting bid for their items. However, Eiken advises sellers that online auction buyers want to get a “steal.” “We tell sellers that you may not get exact value for your item. You may get $3, you may get over-value for (your item).”
The auction site handles just about anything you would see at a traditional auction: antiques, furniture, jewelry, household items, collectibles, pottery, musical instruments, glassware, toys, along with some larger pieces such as farm implements and vehicles. The proprietors assess whether or not items are appropriate to list online. Eiken noted that they do not list clothing and sometimes have to turn down pieces that are broken or for which she doesn’t believe there is a market. Larger items, such as vehicles or boats are not housed at the auctions building, but remain onsite at the seller’s location. For these items sellers simply provide a digital photo. Sellers pay $2 handling charge per “lot” to list items. A “lot” consists of one or more related articles, such as a dining room table and chairs. Sellers also pay a 10% commission on whatever the final sale price is for the lot. If an item doesn’t sell, consignors still pay the $2 listing fee and can either take their items back or try to relist for a future auction. Eiken or Wangen photograph all items to be listed, add text descriptions, and post them to the most current auction on the auction website for review by buyers.
Buyers can go online at any time and review items for an upcoming auction before the auction goes live. “I spend about 3 weeks listing items for each auction,” Eiken said. “During those three weeks people can go online and look as I add items.” Shoppers can also come to the shop to view items in person. After the three-week listing period ends, the auction opens for bids. Shoppers can pick select items to “watch” for which they have an interest to bid. Prior to making a bid, buyers must register online with a valid credit card. To shop items, buyers scroll down through pages of photographed listings. They can also type key words in a search box if they are looking for something specific. On the last day of the sale the auction goes “live” with individuals bidding against each other as a time-remaining clock winds down.
Bidding ends at 6 p.m. on the last day of the auction. For most items, the highest bid at that time is designated the winner. The site allows for approximately 30 seconds between bids. If there is a bidding war on a given item that goes down to the last minute, the auction will remain open past 6 p.m., allowing three minutes after each bid for a follow-up bid. “I’ve seen bidding keep going for an extra half hour on some items,” noted Eiken. One nice feature of the site for busy bidders who aren’t able to monitor activity on the last day of the auction is the ability to establish a top bid price and have the website automatically raise bids incrementally on a given item up to a desired maximum limit.
A friend of Wangen’s, Stephanie Kraling, reflected on her online auction experience: “This was the first online auction I actually bought something on. It’s pretty exciting,” she said. “If someone outbids you then you have to fight for it if you want it,” she recounted. Kraling was interested in a push lawn mower she saw on the auction site, but had to counter bid several times before she prevailed.
Buyers with a winning bid have seven days to come to the auction storeroom to pick up and pay for their item. Buyers pay the bid price plus a 10% premium to Harmony Online Auctions.
Eiken estimates that close to 90% of items listed in the past three auctions have sold. She noted that the hottest selling items so far have been Amish-made tables. Antiques have also been good sellers. “We’ve sold a lot of weird things too, like a big Barbie collection and a big pile of never used coloring books,” said Eiken.
Harmony Online Auctions is the ideal workplace for Eiken, who handles most of the computer-based work for the firm. “I used to be really into computers in high school, but then as I got older I got out of it, so now I’m relearning,” she said. The business also makes it possible for her to avoid daycare expenses for her two young daughters. “I can take them to work and not have to utilize daycare,” she noted.
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