What is full service?
Purple Wave is a full-service auction firm. But for anyone not familiar with auctions or someone only familiar with traditional, in-person auction events, that label may not mean much. What is full service when it comes to an auction company? Today we're going to examine the services we offer to buyers and sellers.
Services for sellers
From initial contact through payment, sellers have access to a territory manager. This local representative works with each seller to handle all questions about the auction and go over the paperwork. An auction specialist then comes to gather the pictures and information needed to create the listings on our website. Our sellers value the relationship with auction professionals who work full-time for Purple Wave making sure everything is handled appropriately.
The territory manager works with our award-winning marketing department to ensure that any seller-specific advertising is added to the already robust campaigns we execute for each event. We have a team who monitors the items for each seller while they're listed on our website before the auction and, in the event an asset isn't performing as expected, can deploy additional, targeted marketing assistance for that particular item from headquarters.
Some auctioneers simply establish a price and put buyers in touch with sellers before disappearing. Not Purple Wave — we handle all parts of the transaction and only once payment has been successfully received do we allow our sellers to release the assets to the buyers. Our sellers know that we qualify our bidders so that the bids they receive are coming from real customers with the intent to purchase the assets on which they're bidding.
For sellers who are still in the decision-making process of how best to manage their equipment inventories, Purple Wave Appraisal Services can provide valuations so a seller can know what sort of recoveries to expect when taking assets to auction.
Services for bidders
Our website is continually evolving to make it easier and more convenient to search for, monitor and bid on the items in our auctions. We do everything we can to provide all the information needed to make bidding decisions on each item. We offer high resolution images and videos where appropriate, as well as very detailed descriptions. If that's not enough, we list contact information for the seller so our bidders can request additional information or schedule a personal inspection.
We don't accept reserves or allow our sellers to bid. We perform UCC searches. Whenever possible, we also obtain the titles for the applicable assets before we list them on our website. Our bidders can trust when they're placing their bids that they have an honest opportunity to purchase the items and that there won't be any issues transferring possession after the auction.
Bidders who email or call with questions about our processes or the items in our auctions are greeted by a professional customer service team who are experts at walking new customers through registration, handing off item inquiries to the appropriate seller or territory manager and resolving any issues that may arise in a timely manner.
For bidders who require financial assistance, we have partnerships with multiple financing institutions. These close relationships allow us to make available lending institutions who are familiar with our auction processes to streamline the approval process for our bidders.
Services for buyers
When the auction is over, our buyers immediately receive invoices with all the information they need to complete the transactions. Our business hours and payment processes are consistent so buyers don't have to worry about paying sellers directly and satisfying their disparate payment requirements. We also have our help desk standing by as a resource for buyers who may have questions about our after-auction processes or who need help completing tax exemption documentation or handling titles.
Heavy equipment can be challenging to transport. Purple Wave Shipping provides an affordable and reliable shipping option to take the hassle out of moving equipment so buyers can relax and trust that their purchases will show up safe.
Full service sets us apart
There are many options available for selling used equipment and vehicles. There are even some other auction companies that offer various combinations and subsets of the services we provide. However, when you're buying or selling used farm, construction or fleet equipment, you want the convenience of dealing with a full service firm that takes the hassle out of the transaction.