Our thanks to the team at Dealernews for their August feature
story on Manheim Specialty growth. The story is also available online. A few highlights:
- 24% increase in Motorcycle buyers and 35% increase in number of Motorcycles sold at Manheim Specialty Auctions between 2006-2009
- Approximately 50% of Motorcycle and PowerSports inventory sells online
- Manheim Specialty growth this year includes expansion in Indianapolis (now 40,000 sq. ft) and Daytona Beach (now 45,000 sq. ft)
We think you'll take at least a couple ideas from the article about how Manheim Specialty Auctions can help you Power Your Profits, and we're available at specialtyauctions@manheim.com or 877-704-INFO (4636) to answer any additional questions.
Chris Hood is a Senior Marketing Manager at Manheim and has 15 years' experience in auction, sports and event marketing
Manheim Specialty has a strong focus on booking out all of the 
Specialty units (RVs, Boats, Motorcycles, PowerSports) we offer for sale with NADA values. This allows us to track our Specialty locations performance against NADA, understand current market conditions, and look for trends in performance from year to year.
Here are a few key points about our Manheim Specialty NADA performance for Motorcycles/PowerSports in 2010. For reference, we track our Motorcycle/PowerSports performance against the
Clean Trade-In/Wholesale NADA value.
- On average, Motorcycles and PowerSports sold at Manheim Specialty locations in Q2 2010 achieved 102% of NADA
- Motorcycles averaged 102% of NADA
- PowerSports averaged 99% of NADA
- April 2010 saw sale prices rise to 105% of NADA
- Q2 2010 NADA performance (102%) was higher than Q2 2009 NADA performance (94%)
Are you interested in receiving our monthly market report for Motorcycles/PowerSports? The market report shows unit information, NADA value and auction sale price for recent Manheim sales. Email us at specialtyauctions@manheim.com to request to be included on the Motorcycle/PowerSports market report mailing list.
Kelly Miller is the Business Manager at Manheim Specialty and Heavy Truck & Equipment.
Well this is it - our final blog article in the series of how to use Specialty auctions most profitably. We hope you've learned a few things and are taking advantage of how Specialty auctions can help Power Your Profits. In this article we want to take a look at auction Remarketing Technology, and Condition Reports, along with brief videos to give you a little more background on how these tools help our buyers and sellers.
When an auction receives a pre-owned Specialty vehicle for sale,
the unit is checked in and an electronic condition report is created along with digital images and certification if applicable. In addition the unit is cleaned, minor mechanical work can be performed, and the unit is set for sale.
It is made available online on presale list
s and PowerSearch tools, and can be purchased through Simulcast. Auctions market the product through a variety of channels, including telemarketing calls, faxes and email. This increases the dealers’ chances of selling the vehicle the first time. At Manheim, once the unit is sold the buyer receives a guaranteed title and funds are transferred to the seller.
As always, we want to hear from you. Please contact us at specialtyauctions@manheim.com or 877-704-INFO (4636) to tell us how we can help you get the most out of your auction experience.
Karen Braddy is the General Manager of Manheim's Specialty and Heavy Truck & Equipment business. She has been with Manheim since 1990, and launched the Specialty initiative for Manheim in 2005.
We're now more than half way through our series on how best to utilize Specialty auctions profitably. Manheim auction locations talk daily with customers who are looking to auctions to help them buy and sell used inventory. We want to help dealers new to auction and those who utilize auctions but are looking for that extra edge with information to help them Power Their Profits.
Now, more than ever, Specialty customers involved in trading and 
selling previously owned Specialty vehicles are making auction their number one method of buying and selling. And they're finding that auctions are by far the most efficient and cost-effective way of managing, shaping and re-shaping their inventory.
Manheim writes white papers periodically to assist dealers, and we also encourage you to view these brief videos for additional thoughts on how to use auctions for both buying and selling inventory.
Good luck, and please contact us at 877-704-INFO (4636) or specialtyauctions@manheim.com to discuss how else we can serve you.
Karen Braddy is the General Manager of Manheim's Specialty and Heavy Truck & Equipment business. She has been with Manheim since 1990, and launched the Specialty initiative for Manheim in 2005.
Welcome to the third installment of our series on how best to utilize Specialty auctions profitably. We've created this series to help dealers who are new to auctions grow their comfort level and to offer some tips and tricks to those who have visited auctions.
The auction process is easier that some might expect. If you are new to auctions or simply new to a particular auction location, go ahead and plan a visit. Auction location personnel will gladly show you around, explain the details of the operation, let you meet the people, and get you comfortable with the process. Here are some tips on what you can do to get the most from your auction experience.
- Choose an auction that matches your needs. Manheim, for example, offers eighteen auction locations nationwide that specialize in monthly (or
more frequent) Specialty sales.
- After deciding on an auction to attend, you will need to register in order to buy and sell.
- Preparation before attending an auction greatly affects a dealer's experience. Preview units for sale and set realistic buying expectations to increase your chances of successfully purchasing the unit you want at a fair price. It's fairly easy to gauge pricing expectations when you plan your visit. The best gauge are the Market Reports from previous sales. These lists are available on-line in real time, as well as in print. They describe the unit and what it sold for most recently.
- Consult with the auction staff about your specific needs. Employees are there to help dealers enjoy a positive customer experience.
We look forward to helping you use auctions to Power Your Profits. Please contact us at specialtyauctions@manheim.com or 1-877-704-INFO (4636) with additional questions.
Karen Braddy is the General Manager of Manheim's Specialty and Heavy Truck & Equipment business. She has been with Manheim since 1990, and launched the Specialty initiative for Manheim in 2005.
Using auctions can be an uncomfortable process for Specialty dealers unless armed with the behind-the-scenes information on how they work! We recently held several in-depth four-hour meetings for a motorcycle manufacturer and its dealers.
During this meeting we described the language/terms used at an auction, benefits and details around buying and selling at an auction, the different methods of buying/selling (online, in lane, Simulcast, OVE.com) along with ways to search for motorcycles/PowerSports online. We found that the attendees left with a much greater comfort level around the auction process, and most have returned to auctions in person and/or online to buy and sell with greater confidence and success.
Are you interested in attending a meeting at an auction to learn more about the whole process? We would like to schedule learning the "Auction Essentials" at several locations making it easy for you to attend. Please contact us at specialtyauctions@manheim.com or 1-877-704-INFO (4636), and let us know of a good location for you and your team.
Kim Miskotten is the National Motorcycle/PowerSports Manager for Manheim Specialty Auctions
Our current condition report on motorcycle/PowerSport units (available online for Manheim customers to review via PowerSearch - look for a 'CR' button attached to the vehicle) is a comprehensive damage evaluation that we are looking to improve upon this year by adding a mechanical inspection.
We've had some conversations with dealers about whether or not we're capturing
the right information to help them make their buying decisions. Based on those discussions, key components we are considering including in the mechanical inspection are if the unit runs, shifts, odometer operational and a fluid (engine, transmission) analysis and possibly a engine and transmission limited warranty.
We would like your feedback on other items for the mechanical inspection that would help you feel more comfortable buying a unit and increase your bidding confidence. When buying at an auction are there certain mechanical factors you wish we provided more information on? What are the key points you look for mechanically when previewing a motorcycle/PowerSport unit? Tell us your opinion regarding if we should perform mechanical inspections on all units or should they only be performed on units of a certain age/mileage?
Kim Miskotten is the National Motorcycle/PowerSports Manager for Manheim Specialty Auctions
We are ramping up our Specialty Video Electronic Condition Report (ECR) process and would like your insight!!! Initially we just walked around the motorcycle videoing the unit.
But after getting into the project a bit, we felt that sound and movement should be included to create a more informative video.
Click on the AVI (Additional Vehicle Information) link under the large picture on right to view the video of a Suzuki motorcycle, or click here to go straight to a Harley video. These examples showcase running, shifting, braking and clutch control of the bike on video.
Would this video help you with your buying decision online? Would you feel more confident bidding online seeing the video? What are you ideas on how to enhance the benefit of this tool? We want to make these Specialty Video Condition Reports as valuable as we can, so we look forward to hearing from you.
Kim Miskotten is the National Motorcycle/PowerSports Manager for Manheim Specialty Auctions
We recently launched a blog series to help answer many questions we receive from dealers new to auctions. Manheim has produced an Auction Handbook designed to walk a dealer through the auction process, and we've also broken down the Handbook into a series of brief videos. A brief description of and link to the video is below. We hope you find it helpful!
Section 2 - How An Auction Operates
Today there are a variety of ways dealers, banks, rental companies and
manufacturers can take advantage of the opportunities auctions provide. By buying and/or selling pre-owned vehicles online or through the auction lanes, buying dealers can supplement their inventory during the busy sale months and continue to meet the ever-growing demand at the dealership. Selling customers can offer their inventory more often in the vehicle life cycle.
While we encourage you to spend some time with our http://www.manheimspecialtyauctions.com/ web site, we're also available to help you take advantage of all that auctions can offer you. Please contact us at 877-704-INFO (4636) or at specialtyauctions@manheim.com with any questions.
Karen Braddy is the General Manager of Manheim's Specialty and Heavy Truck & Equipment business. She has been with Manheim since 1990, and launched the Specialty initiative for Manheim in 2005.
We met this week with Amy Collins and Matt Gruhn from Affinity Group about their upcoming ProfitXcelerator and Marine Dealer Conference & Expo events. After last year's events, we can tell you it didn't take long for us to renew our sponsorships this year. Both events featured outstanding educational content, dynamic exhibitors and hundreds of dealers and suppliers.
This year's ProfitXcelerator event takes place September 19-21 in Las Vegas, and
Marine Dealer Conference & Expo takes place November 15-17 in Orlando. We encourage dealers to check out the web 
sites and consider attending these great events. We'll share more about Manheim's plans at each of these events as the dates approach, and we'll look forward to seeing you there.
Kim Miskotten is the National Motorcycle/PowerSports Manager for Manheim Specialty Auctions
Kevin Cooper is the National Boat Manager for Manheim Specialty Auctions