11:29 am, May 12, 2023
It would be hard to find someone more in love with the art of auctioneering than Andy Conde.
His official title is ‘Manheim Auctions Services’ general manager – group auctioneers’, but he’s really the firm’s legendary auctioneer.
He’s certainly been doing it for a long time, and has witnessed Manheim Auction Services adapt with the times and the changing needs of the buyer.
‘My first auction was in 1980 – I was 19 and I’ve loved every minute of the last 43 years!’ he says in the video posted at the top of this story.
‘I always say that if I were to write a book it would be called ‘Cows, Cars, Cabinets and Cottages’, because that’s basically all of the things I’ve been fortunate enough to sell!
‘When I was a little lad, I only ever wanted to do two things – to be an auctioneer or a football commentator. My granddad used to take me to a local cattle market and afterwards I would stand up and pretend to be the auctioneer.
‘It’s something that’s in my blood and I always try and portray it as something that I love.’
It’s a job that requires hours of preparation and homework, not to mention living a character that’s the life and soul of an auction room – whether that’s a physical or a digital one.
But with the job being such a performing role, was getting dealers and the public back into physical auction rooms a thrill after months of Covid lockdowns?
‘Oh, we’ve embraced it so much,’ says Conde. ‘There were days when we thought we’d never return to physical auctions, but it’s the lifeblood of what we do.’
Unlike some of its competitors, Manheim reintroduced physical auctions when the time was right following the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
And to cater for a different buyer who desires a digital experience, the firm introduced a hybrid sales programme in September 2022, allowing its sites to offer a mixture of online and physical.
‘Being in an auction room is, to me, the lifeblood, but selling online has become a massive thing.
‘The analogy I like to make with online auctions is it’s like you’re commentating on a football match on the radio. You have to bring the game to life; you have to make sure the viewer can see the ball – or the car!
‘It’s fair to say people haven’t come back to the auction halls in their droves – they’re not going to because online is so easy.
‘But we at Manheim have opened the gates to the industry to make it wider – our buyers now have far more choice than they ever had before.’
With over 40 years doing a job he loves, Conde is an ideal person to ask what makes Manheim different from its competitors.
‘I’ve used this word a lot in this interview – it’s choice. We’ve allowed our customers to have choice because we’ve realised that having options is really, really important.
‘If you take away that choice, you take away that right to the customer. That’s the big difference… And of course the quality auctioneering!’
Elsewhere in the interview, Conde chats about:
- How to manage those interactions between online bidders and the dealers in the lanes
- How buyer behaviour has changed since digital became the prevalent channel
- His views on stock availability and prices
Also watch…
Manheim Auction Services’ managing director for wholesale Liam Quegan chats about the firm’s hybrid sales model and the future of car auctions
