Online sales-A success or not?

Bleating Lamb

Thought it may not be any harm to start a thread where people buying and selling stock since Marts went to online and even more recently went totally to online sales could give their views on it.

I bought some store lambs in Manorhamilton during the Summer,were Suffolk ewe lambs and once I saw their weight and that they were decent quality lambs I was happy enough buying them online.
However I think it is harder for a farmer to buy likes of ewes online as while they might be announced as right and correct one in a bunch of ten might have bad footrot or a tooth missing or something.These are things you would have noticed in the mart if you got a chance to inspect the ewes before bidding for them.It was then up to yourself to decide whether to 'chance' the dodgy one or two as you were getting 8 good sheep with them iykwim.

IMO this new system where buyers can't even go in and inspect stock before bidding at home online is ridiculous.The fellas that buy for the factories won't be able to run their hands on backs of 'fed' lambs so will be hard for them to judge what to buy.You could have a lamb at 40kg far fitter to kill than another lamb at 45 kilos that has a thin back.

So in that scenario will the man selling lambs that are that bit lighter lose out while everyone is banned from the Marts?......as its impossible to judge lambs properly through a computer or phone screen.
This is the first time ever to the best of my knowledge that Marts in Ireland operated away with no buyers or selleres on the premises!

Would be interested in peoples experiences over next few weeks on how marts are coping and if its affecting trade at all.

Buford T. Justice XIX

It's a much riskier way to buy sheep, tbf. With cattle, you can easily see their condition score but you can only judge the condition of a sheep by handling them.

Sami23

Just wondering for these online auctions is it the Auctioneer himself that is opening the bidding as all I can see is the option to increase the current bid ?

orm0nd

Bleating Lamb wrote: »

Thought it may not be any harm to start a thread where people buying and selling stock since Marts went to online and even more recently went totally to online sales could give their views on it.

I bought some store lambs in Manorhamilton during the Summer,were Suffolk ewe lambs and once I saw their weight and that they were decent quality lambs I was happy enough buying them online.
However I think it is harder for a farmer to buy likes of ewes online as while they might be announced as right and correct one in a bunch of ten might have bad footrot or a tooth missing or something.These are things you would have noticed in the mart if you got a chance to inspect the ewes before bidding for them.It was then up to yourself to decide whether to 'chance' the dodgy one or two as you were getting 8 good sheep with them iykwim.

IMO this new system where buyers can't even go in and inspect stock before bidding at home online is ridiculous.The fellas that buy for the factories won't be able to run their hands on backs of 'fed' lambs so will be hard for them to judge what to buy.You could have a lamb at 40kg far fitter to kill than another lamb at 45 kilos that has a thin back.

So in that scenario will the man selling lambs that are that bit lighter lose out while everyone is banned from the Marts?......as its impossible to judge lambs properly through a computer or phone screen.
This is the first time ever to the best of my knowledge that Marts in Ireland operated away with no buyers or selleres on the premises!

Would be interested in peoples experiences over next few weeks on how marts are coping and if its affecting trade at all.

I thought viewing was allowed by appointment at most marts prior to sale ? I know the texts I get state that any how,

I supposed it's lucky that the vast majority of breeders are sold at this stage ,

I didnt buy sheep but have bought a fair few weanlings on line some I saw , others I had somebody check for me & a few I bought on impulse , and am happy with them

1 mart manager has also offered to arrange to buy stock for intending customers who can't manage the on line system for 1 reason or another

he also stated that we had 2 choices...run by the present protocol or marts get closed completely

it's a pity we haven't more managers like him,

too many taking to social media saying the system is unworkable instead of getting off their behinds and making it work

Albert Johnson

orm0nd wrote: »

I thought viewing was allowed by appointment at most marts prior to sale ? I know the texts I get state that any how,

I supposed it's lucky that the vast majority of breeders are sold at this stage ,

I didnt buy sheep but have bought a fair few weanlings on line some I saw , others I had somebody check for me & a few I bought on impulse , and am happy with them

1 mart manager has also offered to arrange to buy stock for intending customers who can't manage the on line system for 1 reason or another

he also stated that we had 2 choices...run by the present protocol or marts get closed completely

it's a pity we haven't more managers like him,

too many taking to social media saying the system is unworkable instead of getting off their behinds and making it work

Most marts I frequent have an arrangement to allow the buyer's to view stock before sale commences but I'm not sure as to whether this is a grey area with the latest restrictions. As stated in earlier posts it's next to impossible to judge condition score in sheep without handling them. I'd find it difficult to see how you could buy either fat sheep or breeder's without being able to inspect them beforehand. Store lambs would be somewhat different as once they looked decent quality they'd probably be ok.

As for the comment on mart managers I've yet to encounter one who wouldn't make every effort to source stock for a potential client. It's what a large part of there job is about, matching buyer's with seller's. I know a few that would send an artic load to a man looking for the full of a 2 cow trailer if they thought he'd foot the bill.

Sami23

Sami23 wrote: »

Just wondering for these online auctions is it the Auctioneer himself that is opening the bidding as all I can see is the option to increase the current bid ?

Anyone ?????

kk.man

Sami23 wrote: »

Anyone ?????

The auctioneer can legally open a bid. I saw in once in Kilkenny where a well-known auctioneer opened a bid on animals on a poor day. The dealers were trying to devalue the animals even more by wanting a lower starting price.
This auctioneer said something to the effect.. I am now using my auctioneers decretion and I open the the animals for x.
That stopped the messing. The animals sold for a fair price but if there was no bid on the auction it would be a no sale.

I know a lad who bids on most lots at the local mart just to mess with the dealers price plans, says he doesn't care if he's landed with a few pens or not.

stantheman1979

I’ve mixed feelings about it all. I don’t go to marts that often but enjoy the day meeting a few people and seeing what the trade is like etc but if you can do it from the comfort of your kitchen and save some time then it can be a good thing.
I agree with the judging a sheep by touch. I had nice tight wooled texal and suffolk x lambs in the mart 2weeks ago. They were 46 kg like butter they only made €92 and big tall woolly Cheviot x lambs same weight but not well fleshed made €107 but they looked better from the camera angle in the mart. So looks can be deceiving lads

Bleating Lamb

stantheman1979 wrote: »

I’ve mixed feelings about it all. I don’t go to marts that often but enjoy the day meeting a few people and seeing what the trade is like etc but if you can do it from the comfort of your kitchen and save some time then it can be a good thing.
I agree with the judging a sheep by touch. I had nice tight wooled texal and suffolk x lambs in the mart 2weeks ago. They were 46 kg like butter they only made €92 and big tall woolly Cheviot x lambs same weight but not well fleshed made €107 but they looked better from the camera angle in the mart. So looks can be deceiving lads

That was no good for your lambs....were the Cheviots ewe
lambs?.....they might have being bought for breeding,If they were ram lambs it was too much for them.

Dropped off lambs to the mart this morning. Watched them sell on MartEye, the mart was on the phone live with me as they were being sold, so it was as good as being there in person.

richie123

Sami23 wrote: »

Anyone ?????

Auctioneers opens the bidding.
Sure if it was left to farmers they would bid ridiculous opening bids and slow the thing down

I find the pics on the LSL app to be of terrible quality.....certainly wouldnt be a.fan so far

Tileman

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I find the pics on the LSL app to be of terrible quality.....certainly wouldnt be a.fan so far

No worse than gone deal. I traveled a bit yesterday to look at two ram lambs as one of my 2 big lads has gone terribly lame in the last week.
The lambs were nothing like the picture. Such an annoyance . And he wasn’t looking for small money either.

richie123

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I find the pics on the LSL app to be of terrible quality.....certainly wouldnt be a.fan so far

I found martbids camera focus poor.
The lsl marts I buy in are excellent

Mad about baa baas

Tileman wrote: »

No worse than gone deal. I traveled a bit yesterday to look at two ram lambs as one of my 2 big lads has gone terribly lame in the last week.
The lambs were nothing like the picture. Such an annoyance . And he wasn’t looking for small money either.

My brother went looking at ram lambs on done deal back in August.. lambs in pics had tags but when he got there none of the lambs man had were tagged an not nearly as
nice.. very frustrating

mayoireland

I bought 30 hoggets this summer . I could go in to the mart in the morning pick my number and went home. I would bid online on the numbers I took if I got them I got them I wasn't the day in there .I taught it was a good job.then about 4 weeks ago they went offline for the store lambs and it was the same few dealers buying bad prices aswell.when online there is outside bids better for farmer in my opinion

mayoireland

mayoireland wrote: »

I bought 30 hoggets this summer . I could go in to the mart in the morning pick my number and went home. I would bid online on the numbers I took if I got them I got them I wasn't the day in there .I taught it was a good job.then about 4 weeks ago they went offline for the store lambs and it was the same few dealers buying bad prices aswell.when online there is outside bids better for farmer in my opinion

Way better, though dealers tried to set the days price low our last sale, bidding probably 75% of what lots were worth for the first few pens. Picked up well after that though. I hope they keep it after we solve covid.

Sami23

Well just to give my tuppence worth on the online only sales.
I both bought and sold animals over the last month via the online sales and have to say I find it great tbh.
You just drop off your animals and your not hours hanging around the mart to sell. You can watch online if you have time or just wait for the call either. If not happy you can re-run them or bring them home again.

There's just a couple of improvements I think would be good:
1. that you could write a reserve type of figure on the paperwork when your handing it over. This would be the minimum price that you will accept on the day. Also this price could be used to open the bidding as there's no point the auctioneer opening bids way under what your going to accept - it's only wasting everyone's time and leading to lower end price also.
2. at the end of the bidding if it's close to what you want it would be good if you could talk yo the highest bidder to try get the deal over the line.

What do others think after seeing this in place for a while now

arctictree

I've been going to the Mart last few weeks to sell and find the online service dead handy. Just drop the sheep in, hand over the docket and get a lot number. Then watch online later. I miss going for breakfast in the town with the young lad but hopefully that will be back soon. Mart manager has said that the online service will stay after the lockdown so that will be useful for some people.

Water John

Not in sheep but Camolin are looking for organic lambs ATM.

Green farmer

Sold a good few batches of lambs in the last week or two. Delighted with the online selling. Drop off lambs, do what you like for an hour two and wait for the phone call to say yes or no. No hanging around the sellers box, having to reject the first offer or two. Find it a much cleaner process, no messing

Sami23

Green farmer wrote: »

Sold a good few batches of lambs in the last week or two. Delighted with the online selling. Drop off lambs, do what you like for an hour two and wait for the phone call to say yes or no. No hanging around the sellers box, having to reject the first offer or two. Find it a much cleaner process, no messing

Agree 100%

Green farmer

Sami23 wrote: »

Agree 100%

I know off topic, but I've been to several different marts recently. Given me a chance to see different auctioneers selling. How hard they try to get the best price for you. Imo, Best auctioneer I've seen playing his trade, is the lad at central auctions roscrea. Definitely got me a few extra quid then lads elsewhere.

kk.man

Green farmer wrote: »

I know off topic, but I've been to several different marts recently. Given me a chance to see different auctioneers selling. How hard they try to get the best price for you. Imo, Best auctioneer I've seen playing his trade, is the lad at central auctions roscrea. Definitely got me a few extra quid then lads elsewhere.

Auctioneer in Kk sheep mart not bad either.

orm0nd

Green farmer wrote: »

I know off topic, but I've been to several different marts recently. Given me a chance to see different auctioneers selling. How hard they try to get the best price for you. Imo, Best auctioneer I've seen playing his trade, is the lad at central auctions roscrea. Definitely got me a few extra quid then lads elsewhere.

he's good , but he's dealing with some shower of $%£"£$ there

the management really fuked up that sale , they refused to put it online until the total lock down when they had no choice,

i was coming back from factory run one day and called in , was on look out for ewe lmbs for a neighbour , and wasnt let into the ring as it was full, could see in and I knew that some of the individuals inside were only ther for the gauk ,

5 or 6 genuine buyers out side refused entry , I asked why not on line and told it would be too slow

for the bit of mart work we do, we go to cahir now, I see a lot of north tipp lambs in ennis now as well, watching on line

watching waterford ross mart online and the auctioneer is top notch and the buyers respect him he sells cattle as well

Green farmer

orm0nd wrote: »

for the bit of mart work we do, we go to cahir now, I see a lot of north tipp lambs in ennis now as well, watching on line

watching waterford ross mart online and the auctioneer is top notch and the buyers respect him he sells cattle as well

I've sold homebred store lambs in both ennis and cahir over the last two weeks followed by roscrea a day or two later. All I know is I got a better price per kg in roscrea then elsewhere. Didnt know anything about the management. To be honest the staff seemed decent in all three marts, but if someone had been awkward to me anywhere, I be like yourself and wouldnt be going back there a second time. Never been to waterford so cannt comment on there.