The abrupt recent lockdown experienced in Victoria in the final week of May saw the Casterton Kelpie Association turn to AuctionsPlus to host their annual working dog auction, which is usually interfaced with AuctionsPlus, as an online only auction. The auction ran for ten days, starting on Friday June 4th, with the timer commencing on Sunday June 13th, to conclude the sale.
The auction transacted a total of $298,000 across the 51 lots on offer, with 39 lots selling, and 12 lots passing in. 122 online bidders were active across the sale, of which 38 were successful purchasers. The catalogue had just shy of 34,000 views and a total of 5,604 users connected to the auction throughout the sale. In the final hours of the auction, over 300 users were connected, which is comparable with AuctionsPlus’ weekly sheep and cattle sales. The immense bidding activity kept the auction open for a further hour and forty minutes after the timer had been switched on.
Without a doubt, the highlight of Sunday’s auction was Eulooka Hoover, a 2 year and 4-month-old male red and tan Kelpie from Edenhope VIC. Hoover sold for a national record of $35,200, with a total of 277 bids placed on him by 12 bidders. The previous record was set at the Jerilderie Working Dog Auction in 2019, when a working dog sold for $25,000.
Hoover is heading into a team of twelve dogs, working between sheep and cattle properties throughout New South Wales and Victoria and will be based in North-Eastern Victoria. “Having the auction open for several days was extremely beneficial and allowed buyers the opportunity to see everything on offer” Hoover’s new owner stated.
Having adapted to the online bidding platform for other ventures in the recent 12-18 months, the buyer was comfortable in bidding online despite the different experience to usual dog auctions. “With vendor details available, it allowed for interaction and discussions around a buyer’s operations and whether a particular dog may suit their needs – vendors are just as keen for the dogs to go to a good home”. In terms of marketing, although videos can only show so much, buyers can get “the gist of a dog” through videos and harnessing new technologies, such as drones, has proved to be very beneficial in increasing buyer confidence.
The decision for the Casterton Kelpie Association to go online only for their working dog auction is the second time AuctionsPlus has facilitated an online only dog auction. 2019 was the first time this took place, when the devastating effects of drought resulted in the RMA Network Working Stock Dog Auction going online for the first time ever, due to a lack of available stock in the area for the pre trials.
Once again, external influences have forced the Casterton Kelpie Association to make a quick decision and turn to the online only format as the lockdown measures put in place in Victoria would have forced them to postpone or cancel their sale. Given the association had to cancel last years sale due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the decision to hold the second online only dog auction on AuctionsPlus was utilised, successfully.