Did we miss memo about Auction Access charging dealers an annual fee PER Authorized Auction Rep?

[Retail My Ride]

Have any other dealers received their first invoicing from Auction Access to pay $99 per year for each person/rep authorized by dealer to have an auction badge? If you haven't, get ready for another nickel-and-dime moment compliments of Manheim, Adesa and the other auction companies. We spoke with Jacob at Auction Access, and apparently the auction companies wouldn't agree to pick up the tab on what Auction Access calls, "increased data-security costs" so now all dealers have to essentially pay a "Cover Charge" for each authorized buyer rep. OK, so $99 may not be a big number, but if you have a lot of people assigned to your dealership on Auction Access (regardless of whether they are active or inactive users), then it starts to add up! If you haven't logged into your Auction Access account recently, now is a good time to delete any old members/reps that no longer attend auction for you. You will be getting an invoice soon for $99/year for every rep on your Auction Access account.

Is it just us or is buying from auctions becoming more and more expensive and less and less productive and profitable? Higher car prices (you know our position on Carvana, CarMax, AutoNation, Vroom, etc.), and higher buyer fees for sure! Now they essentially are passing along what should be their cost of doing business to the dealers for the privilege of doing business with them. Where does it end?

Would welcome others thoughts of this topic. Are we overacting here?

 

[Jeff Kershner]

Buying from auctions IS becoming more and more expensive and less and less productive and profitable!

 

[Con Lemoine]

I got the same e-mail from Auction Access the other day out of nowhere with that $99 invoice and that was the first I've ever heard of it as well. We've never had to pay them an annual fee in the past I don't believe. You'd think they would have sent out some communication about them adding an annual fee prior to sending out invoices to dealers but maybe they did and I just missed that e-mail or something. I haven't paid the invoice yet...I was going to wait and see if any other dealers got the same thing but it sounds like they did

 

[JIrwin]

It’s coming down to the deadline and I still haven’t paid my auction access $99 gaffe. I’m still not sure what will happen if I don’t pay. Will Manheim, Adesa, Ford accelerate stop access? Or is it just getting signed up with new locations or services. As much as the big auctions are charging this is just very annoying fee to me. BTW I’ve the last couple of months I have been using caroffer and ACV. Much better service much less hassle and much less expense. We’ve done over a half a million in sales between the two post COVID.

 

[Tallcool1]

I didn't give it a second thought and paid the $99 back in February or March.

I just didn't feel it was worth complaining about and really don't know what they would have done had it not been paid. It's $99 which makes it pretty much the cheapest thing I have in my dealership as far as a subscription or membership!

 

[atikovi]

It’s coming down to the deadline and I still haven’t paid my auction access $99 gaffe. I’m still not sure what will happen if I don’t pay.

You will be blocked from bidding online or from getting a bidder badge in a local sale. And what is coming next? An annual fee from Manheim and Adesa? I'm surprised they haven't done that by now as money hungry as they can be. All the salvage auctions charge a membership fee.

 

[ra6209]

Who doesn't adjust how much they pay for a vehicle when the buy fee is $800? All of these fees just drive down the price the seller gets for the vehicle. If you are saying you have to pay more even with the fees because you need the inventory, then it is the market that is driving up the cost, not the fees. The sellers need to get wise to the fact that the auctions are taking their money by increasing the buy fees, even if they are charging the seller no fees. It does seem reasonable that Auction Access has higher costs than in the past to manage all of this data. Perhaps the inherent cost of the auction business has just gone up in this realm and the auction companies don't want to eat that expense. At the margins, the Auction Access fee will drive away some buyers in a way that causes all you buy at the auctions in a year to be $99 cheaper than what you would have bought with more buyers and no fee. It will work itself out.

 

[Viracocha]

Who doesn't adjust how much they pay for a vehicle when the buy fee is $800? All of these fees just drive down the price the seller gets for the vehicle. If you are saying you have to pay more even with the fees because you need the inventory, then it is the market that is driving up the cost, not the fees. The sellers need to get wise to the fact that the auctions are taking their money by increasing the buy fees, even if they are charging the seller no fees. It does seem reasonable that Auction Access has higher costs than in the past to manage all of this data. Perhaps the inherent cost of the auction business has just gone up in this realm and the auction companies don't want to eat that expense. At the margins, the Auction Access fee will drive away some buyers in a way that causes all you buy at the auctions in a year to be $99 cheaper than what you would have bought with more buyers and no fee. It will work itself out.

I have always been amazed at how many people don't see it this way.... Commodity is king~!