To give or not give a bottle of wine to the first bidder at an auction?
By Tom PanosMany agents choose to hand out a nice bottle of red to the opening bidder as a goodwill gesture. After trialling it for a few weeks , I must say it helps !
There is usually some applause and a good feeling amongst the crowd so I think it is certainly worth considering in the properties over 1mil where their can be a long gap before bidding gets underway. First home price range is not as important, as at the moment , that market place is hot and usually someone gets things going. One things for sure, the earlier that first bid comes in , the better. It certainly helps the auction momentum and takes away a bit of the tension for all parties . Obviously you need to be aware of all legislation in regards to law and whether this constitutes an inducement to obtain a bid .
Do you really think offering wine to the first bidder actually incites people to bid? I’ve been to many auctions where there’s an incentive for the first bid but I’ve got to say, I reckon it makes no difference. If you were choosing between a BMW & a Mercedes, would you buy the Merc because it came with a bottle of wine? Sure, the ice is broken once the 1st bidder puts his/her card up & everyone applauds but the auctioneer could achieve this by simply saying “congratulations to our first bidder…how about some applause…etc etc”. Now, what would happen if the Merc came with a cute blonde…..=;-)