Manheim Specialty Auctions 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 Boats in the second quarter of 2010. For reference, we track our Boat performance against the Used Trade-In NADA value.
- On average, Boats sold at Manheim Specialty locations in Q2 2010 achieved 117% of NADA
- May 2010 saw sale prices rise extremely high to 122% of
NADA
- Q2 2010 NADA performance (117%) was higher than Q2 2009 NADA performance (107%)
Are you interested in receiving our monthly market report for Boats? 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 Boat market report mailing list.
Kelly Miller is the Business Manager at Manheim Specialty and Heavy Truck & Equipment.
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.
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
Whenever I visit a Manheim Specialty sale or talk to customers, Otto always seems to be part of the conversation. Let’s face it – Otto is memorable, and he always seems to be there when you need help finding Specialty vehicles online. Who would have ever imagined that a ferret could help you be more successful?
I tracked down some folks at Manheim Online to get a little background on Otto. Here’s what I found out:
- Otto was born on September 29, 2007 and is looking forward to his 3rd birthday later this year
- Otto has been all over the United States visiting auctions and attending tradeshows - with all that traveling, he has racked up enough frequent flier miles to reach Elite status.
- You can even follow Otto on Twitter
Otto is always there to help dealers navigate Manheim’s online marketplaces in order to find the Specialty vehicles they are looking for. Whether it is a Boat, RV, Motorcycle or PowerSport, Otto is there to point you in the right direction and assist you in finding the Specialty vehicles that meet your needs. He will also keep you up to date on online events at Manheim Specialty.
Keep your eye out for Otto at Manheim Specialty auctions – you never know when he may show up in person to help you find just the vehicle you need.
Kelly Miller is the Business Manager at Manheim Specialty and Heavy Truck & Equipment.
The Spring 2010 "RV roadsigns" publication that is distributed by RIVA (
Recreation Vehicle Industry Association) just landed on my desk this week. Dr. Richard Curtin of the University of Michigan
Consumer Survey Research Center puts forth his opinion on the RV market. I am always interested to here what he has to say since he has been conducting research on the RV industry for over 30 years.
Some key points from Dr. Curtin:
- RV shipments are expected to rise 30% in 2010
- Rising shipments are a result of dealers restocking inventory and the improving RV sales to end consumers
- The largest gains are expected to be in motorhomes and travel trailers
Click here to see the RVIA press release about the rise in RV shipments in 2010. There is a lot of great industry information in "RV roadsigns" that you receive for being an RVIA member. Check out the RVIA website at http://www.rvia.org/ for more information on how to join one of the industry leading RV organizations.
Kelly Miller is the Business Manager at Manheim Specialty and Heavy Truck & Equipment.
Conversations with dealers these days don't last long before the
topic of financing comes up. Across all Manheim Specialty categories we hear dealers talking about challenges matching Black Book, NADA and other book pricing to retail and in finding banks to finance consumer purchases. Some dealers report some loosening for consumers and their own businesses, but certainly not enough to support as quick a recovery as we'd all like.
We came across a free F&I webinar on PowerSportsBusiness.com on March 24. And to support the wholesale business, Manheim has a floor plan arm, MAFS, that offers floor planning to a variety of Specialty customers, including RVs and motorcycles. Manheim sales can help dealers connect with GE Capital for boat financing as well.
We want to hear what's going on in your world - how are you getting customers financed these days? Are you seeing a bigger percentage of credit unions and small banks doing the financing? Do you anticipate the bigger banks getting back to (or even close to) previous financing levels? Has your dealership found other ways to get customers into new and used product? We look forward to hearing from you.
Samantha Greene is Inside Sales Representative - RVs - for Manheim Specialty Auctions
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
We talk every week with Motorcycle, PowerSports, Boat and RV dealers looking for new ways to manage inventory and grow profits. Many of them are new to auctions, and some get discouraged because the units do not sell for what their expectations are. The mindset needs to be a wholesale mindset.
Dealers consistently tell us they are looking to sell at auctions both to have a method of selling customer trade-ins that may not sell at their dealership and to move aged inventory. Auctions are a powerful tool for both buyers and sellers, and Manheim created several guides including an Auction Handbook and 'getting started' videos as part of a Dealer Resource Center to help dealers get comfortable with auctions.
Here are some tips on how to adopt a wholesale mindset when pricing your units to sell at auction:
- Use a pricing guide like NADA or Black Book
- Register for the Manheim market report, which gives a monthly snapshot of what units have sold for at auctions
- Visit Manheim PowerSearch to see what units are currently available for sale as well as the asking price for s
elect units
- Consider the vehicle's condition in setting the price - your auction will be able to provide a condition report to help you
Once the units are units are priced to sell, you will be able move your inventory quicker to have less aged inventory on your lot. As you sell more at auctions you'll also develop a following of buyers who know and trust you, helping you generate more profitable sales.
Angie Loving is the National Operations Manager, and Karl Mitchell is the National Dealer Manager, for Manheim Specialty Auctions