It's time for our third blog article designed to help you take full advantage of Manheim's online tools (the entire series is available here). Approximately 40% of Manheim Specialty inventory sells to online bidders, and well over half of our customers go online to do anything from preview inventory to view condition reports to bid and buy.
One of the more popular manheim.com features is the "Saved Searches" portion of 
PowerSearch. With the Saved Searches tool, you can tell us the types of vehicles that interest you. Then when vehicles that match your interests are available, you'll receive a notification by email or text. Please click here for a brief overview of how Saved Searches work and how you can allow manheim.com to make your inventory searches more efficient and profitable.
Whether it's more convenient for you to buy in-lane or online, we hope you'll take a few minutes to learn how to make Manheim work harder for you. Please contact us at specialtyauctions@manheim.com or 877-704-INFO (4636) for more details and to walk through web site features one-on-one.
Kelly Miller is the Business Manager at Manheim Specialty and Heavy Truck & Equipment
We recently launched a series of blog articles to help Specialty dealers learn how to utilize Manheim online tools to their greatest advantage. In this article we'll focus on the Manheim.com Workbook, which allows you to store a list of Manheim.com inventory items that interest you.
The workbook feature makes it easier to narrow your search to vehicles you're considering purchasing and/or to identify what other sellers are asking for similar units. You may also register via email for our monthly market report featuring recent sale prices.
You can create and access a personal Workbook on Manheim.com by using any of the following paths (please note that you must have a Manheim ID to visit the pages below. You can contact us at specialtyauctions@manheim.com or 1-877-704-INFO (4636) for more information)...
- Workbook selection under the Buy menu on Manheim.com.
- Workbook selection under the My MANHEIM menu
- Link from the PowerSearch listing screen
- Link from the vehicle description page for a vehicle already stored in your Workbook.
Please clck here for a brief overview of how to take full advantage of the Manheim.com Workbook, and Manheim Specialty Auctions also created a brief 'how-to' guide with tips and tricks on working with Manheim.com, Simulcast and OVE.com.
We want to hear from you if you have any questions or would like to talk with us one-on-one about Manheim online tools. Please contact us at at specialtyauctions@manheim.com or 1-877-704-INFO (4636), and let us know how we can help.
Craig Capizzi is Assistant General Manager, Manheim Specialty and Heavy Truck & Equipment Auctions
Since Manheim Specialty Auctions launched in 2005, we've seen steady growth in online sales. Currently almost 40% of our volume
sells via Simulcast or OVE.com - including
Thursday Thunder sales. Although many dealers are gaining confidence previewing and buying online, we also hear from a lot of customers who still have questions or concerns with going online for Specialty inventory.
To help our customers' online comfort levels, we're kicking off a blog series that helps you understand how to get the most out of http://www.manheimspecialtyauctions.com/. We'll walk you through everything from finding and sorting inventory to saving units in a ‘workbook' so you can review them periodically and receive emails when that type of inventory is available at a Manheim Specialty branded location.
As always, we encourage your feedback and have staff dedicated to.jpg)
each type of Specialty vehicle who can help you - please contact us at specialtyauctions@manheim.com or 877- 877-704-INFO (4636) and let us know how we can help. Also please check out our Online Quick Start Guide, which walks you through utilizing Manheim's online channels in more detail.
Getting Started - Finding and Sorting Inventory
When you're ready to start looking for Specialty inventory, we recommend you turn to one of two pages:
- The Manheim Specialty Event Calendar shows you all upcoming Specialty sales which can be filtered by category and location, and allows you to link to that location's pre-sale inventory. From there you can see specific units available for sale, along with condition report and vehicle description information.
- Manheim PowerSearch allows you to make a broad or targeted inventory search among all Manheim locations. Search categories include vehicle type, make/model, geography and more.
Once you begin pulling up inventory on PowerSearch, you can dig deeper into the units that pop up. What condition is the vehicle in? What location offers it, and is it available on OVE.com or just in-lane and via Simulcast? You can also sort search inventory by a variety of options to narrow your search to specific vehicles you want to target. All this information and more, including pictures and features, are available.
Manheim also offers insight into helping you estimate vehicle prices. To receive a monthly market report including sale prices for Specialty units, please contact us at specialtyauctions@manheim.com.
We encourage you to spend a few minutes with the Manheim Specialty Auctions event calendar and PowerSearch to become more familiar with the inventory available to you. Be sure to check back soon for an overview of how to set up a Workbook of inventory to monitor periodically so you can continue making the most of your time online. We'll look forward to seeing you soon - in lane and/or online!
Chris Hood is a Senior Marketing Manager at Manheim and has 15 years' experience in auction, sports and event marketing
We talk often with dealers about the types of Specialty auctions they find most valuable. While just a few years ago nearly all RV, boat, motorcycle and PowerSports auction sales happened at 
physical auctions, now there are a variety of online options - on Manheim.com alone, Simulcast allows dealers to watch sales real-time on their computers and bid as if they were in the lanes. OVE.com gives dealer both competitive bidding and 'buy it now' options. PowerSearch shows dealers all available inventory, searchable by vehicle type, selling location, whether it's available in-lane and/or online and more.
So what method(s) work best for you, and where do you see the 
online Specialty auction world going? Do you see yourself and your dealership doing more or less online buying over time? What do auctions need to do to make you more comfortable buying online? We look forward to hearing from you.
Craig Capizzi is Assistant General Manager, Manheim Specialty and Heavy Truck & Equipment Sales
Recent years have seen strong increases in Specialty auction dealer participation and vehicles sold. With these increases come the need for larger facilities to host dealers and inventory and more ways for dealers to access inventory.
Manheim Indianapolis is doubling the size of its motorcycle and PowerSports auction space and is hosting a PowerSports Expansion Super Sale February 2-3, where it will show off its 40,000 square feet of auction space.
Manheim New York is doubling the size of its Specialty sale in 2010. Manheim has committed to adding an additional Simulcast lane to allow the New York 17k location to offer double the amount of consignment during their regularly scheduled Specialty sale held the 3rd Wednesday of the month.
So as 2010 progresses, how will your auction habits change? Do you plan to visit more sales in person? Will you research and/or buy more units online? Beyond trade-ins, how else will you grow your used inventory?
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.