Enhancing Enniskillen Auctions’ Operations & Customer Experience

 Please tell us your name, where you’re from, and a little bit about the business. 

Hi, I’m Nigel from Enniskillen Auctions. We sell all sorts of equipment and goods, from gym equipment to plant machinery and catering equipment – really anything we can get our hands on.

How long have you personally been in the auction space?

I’ve personally been in the auction business for about 8 years now, so I’ve gained a good amount of experience over that time.

Tell us a bit about the relationship you have with Bidpath. Which products are you using? How did you find us? What’s the story there?

A few years ago, we were looking to start doing timed online auctions. That’s when we discovered Bidpath and started using their live & timed bidding solution, and back office system. This was around the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it was a really good fit for us – we were able to get set up with platforms pretty fast. We worked closely with Brendan, Eloise, and Sam from the Bidpath team, and they were very helpful in understanding our needs and what we were looking for. 

Recently, we made the switch over to Bidpath’s GoAuction system for our timed online auctions and back office, which is an even more sophisticated and capable platform that integrates seamlessly with our live bidding. We also replaced our old website with Bidpath’s Web CMS solution, which made things even smoother. The transition was straightforward since we were already familiar with the Bidpath team, and the platform is terrific. Having access to the same team across multiple different systems end-to-end, gave us more time to focus more on our day-to-day processes without the hassle of things not aligning or having to explain what we need over and over again to different people.

Were there any problems or specific pain points that you were hoping to solve when you initially approached Bidpath?

The main reason we initially approached Bidpath was to enable timed online auctions, as our previous system didn’t support that functionality. We had an existing online presence, but it was just for live auctions. Transitioning to timed auctions with Bidpath was a big step forward for our business and a great opportunity to grow our existing buyer base.

The Web CMS and Back Office system we’re using now has been a game-changer. It’s much more advanced and user-friendly, both for us as the auction house and for our customers. The website integration is seamless, and the ability to take deposits from bidders before they can access the auctions has been a huge improvement. Now we have a website that we can easily update ourselves and it works seamlessly with the back office section of our solution.

In terms of our buyer base, the feedback on the new system has been very positive from both vendors and customers. It’s still early days, but we’re hopeful that the improved platform will help us grow our bidder base further. 

What were your initial thoughts on the Bidpath product and did they change after you used it?

It was very daunting at the beginning, since the product is quite sophisticated and has a lot of features compared to our previous system. After doing a few online tutorials and with the help of Brendan and Sam, we were able to use our new Bidpath Go Auction system with ease after just a couple of weeks. Bidpath’s product suite is truly a user-focused solution. The system is very well built and you can see that the development team really thinks of every little thing we might need to make our user experience the best it can be.

What aspects of your auction management process (at any stage) have you seen improve since using the Bidpath product suite?

Vendor payments are a big improvement for us as everything is linked from the moment it is entered on to the platform right through to making the payment with regards to Buyer and Vendor charges and VAT. 

What do you like most about the solution Bidpath has provided you? What do staff using it day to day and customers engaging with it on your platform give you the most positive feedback on?

Bidders registering for online bidding are always saying how easy it is to create an account and pay their bidding deposit. We see this in the office as well as we rarely have to give any support to our customers trying to register for upcoming auctions. We also have a fantastic new online bidding screen layout, which brings in a lot of positive feedback from our bidders, that allows the user to see all the information they need without having to scroll the page down.

If you had one thing you would like to say about your experience with Bidpath to someone that may be considering signing up, what would you say?

Partnering with Bidpath has been a game-changer for our business. By leveraging their comprehensive suite of solutions, we’ve been able to streamline our internal processes and provide a truly engaging online auction experience for our bidders. It is a very sophisticated and reliable product with a good support team to help you along the way.