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Closing a store can be a challenging experience financially, emotionally, practically, and logistically. Whether you are frustrated at the market circumstances that brought your business to the point of closure, or excited about your next venture or an upcoming retirement, the practical side of a store closure is a daunting - and can be a complex - process to navigate alone. 

While luxury private art and auto auction houses get the most press, many people don’t realize that specialized auction houses also exist for liquidating practical business equipment and inventory, including FF&E for grocery stores, restaurants, bakeries, delis, convenience stores, and more --  so the fact that you’re reading this blog is a fantastic educational step in the right direction.  

While you have several options for this process, including local liquidation sales and charitable donations, next to selling your business and all its inventory to new owners and seamlessly walking into your next adventure, using an auction house is the most strategic and effective way to handle your business assets during a closure.

In this first of a two-part series, we’ll take a look at why:

Competitive Bidding Means Greater Returns

Closing your business often comes at a financial loss. As such, maximizing returns on your assets should be at the forefront of your decision. 

While tempting in its local practicality, traditional tag sales not only limit your buyer base, but also remove competition. Auctions create a dynamic environment where buyers compete against each other, leading to a natural escalation of prices. When multiple bidders are interested, the excitement and urgency of the auction can drive prices higher than would be achieved through a conventional, local sale.

Choosing an auction house that can get you the largest returns is critical to avoiding disappointment and dissatisfaction.  While it can be tempting to select a small local auction house, doing so significantly limits your profits by shrinking your bidder base, and with it, your returns.

Professional Marketing Matters

Successful professional auction houses are highly skilled in marketing your assets. They use various platforms and methods to showcase your inventory to potential bidders in an appealing and informative manner. They take professional photographs of your items and write detailed item descriptions that highlight key features, and create customized marketing to showcase your auction via email marketing campaigns, targeted online ads, social media outreach, and more – which ultimately leads to higher bidder activity and better auction outcomes. 

Auction houses like SAM Auctions  have a huge buyer base across North America, as well as an in-house professional marketing team whose sole focus is to drive attention and bidders to your assets. 

Expertise in Valuation 

Seasoned auction professionals bring invaluable knowledge and experience to provide accurate valuations, taking into account historical sales on similar items, current market trends, demand, and the condition and age of your assets. 

Accurately inventorying, photographing, and assessing the market worth of each of your individual assets can be both a daunting and time-and-staff-consuming task, and choosing an end-to-end auction house like SAM Auctions, who will inventory, analyze, and provide you with expected total asset valuation, is a game changer.  

Streamlined Liquidation Process

The process of closing a store involves numerous logistical steps which can create significant stress and pull you from other critical business tasks. This is where auction houses truly shine, offering you a streamlined approach that simplifies every aspect of your asset liquidation. True end-to-end auction houses take on the responsibility of inventorying, organizing, cataloging, photographing, marketing, and managing your auction, allowing you to focus on other critical components of your business closure and other aspects of your role.

Time is often of the essence in closures, and auction houses can expedite the process for you and work to meet your deadline. Rather than dragging out sales over weeks or months, as can often happen with local tag sales, auctions can be conducted quickly. This rapid approach not only helps you clear out your inventory efficiently, but also alleviates much of the pressure off of your store closure, giving you peace of mind during an otherwise typically stressful and often-emotional period.

By handling the logistics of your liquidation, auction houses take the bulk of the burden off of you and your team. You won’t need to worry about individually pricing, researching items, creating an inventory, negotiating with buyers, or managing multiple sale platforms. Instead, you can rely on the auction house’s expertise to manage these tasks professionally, ensuring a smoother transition and much greater returns on your assets.

To find out more about how SAM Auctions can help you during a store closure, please contact us.