Fingers Crossed For Reverse Auction

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Blow the trumpets this is not a sports post. After this episode I feel as though I have been through a round of boxing even though I was sitting behind my desk. I am knackered from all the stress and worry and I could literally just go to sleep now it is over for now.

Today I was involved in a reverse auction used to supply products to large companies. To say I didn't enjoy it is an understatement and left me some what frazzled after only 30 minutes. I don't blame the companies for going this route as it saves them time on some thing that could take months. This way the entire process is over in a week or two as you first have to be whittled down.

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Most of the big companies are moving to this method now.

What I didn't enjoy is knowing who might be bidding against me and how much they are going to cheat the company at the end of the day. The margins are tight as it is volume based with transport which doesn't come cheap. We all know everything has gone up due to fuel prices as everything needs to be delivered.

The way it works is everyone logs onto the auction site at a certain time where the leading price is shown in green. Mine was red and green and back to red and then green again and back to red when I said that is enough as from the fractions I was dropping kind of new where the other company was. We are talking cents and personally feel that the product we supply is superior to everyone else and will save the company money by how we work.

I may have come second for the regions I want to supply, but there is still hope yet as not always the winning bid gets the contract. I just find it a horrible experience as you feel as though you are being screwed for the entire time and you are. My biggest problem is that once you beat the bid the bidding extends by another 3 minutes which is not right in my opinion. The bidding allows you to drop in increments of between 0.25% and 20 % with which my favorite was the smallest one. I would much rather have been able to write a price in than playing stupid games like this.

A closed bid should be submitted and then you are given one more opportunity if this is not the winning bid perhaps giving everyone 2 chances. The problem I have with it is business relationships go out the window and there is very little personal contact. Where is the technology going to lead us next as this was so unfriendly and just a terrible experience. I must admit I am not a fan of this process and believe everyone loses out on what should be fun.

I am hoping I am awarded the contract as I have some things up my sleeve that the other suppliers don't have and why I wasn't prepared to keep on fighting as I know they are crooked as sin. I knew who I was up against even though it was done privately and everyone remains anonymous as I know how this company operates. They were the only ones who could match or better my pricing by using their underhand methods. You tend to know who your competitors are and there aren't many in my industry who can beat me legitimately anyway.

I have learned loads from today's experience and there was nothing I could have done better to improve the outcome. Chasing something that isn't right is bad business and who knows I reckon I still have a decent chance of landing the deal. The waiting is the terrible part now as the buyer weighs up all his options.

The one thing that got me thinking is how legitimate is the company hosting the auction as they must receive a percentage from the original lowest price received before the auction started. We all had to give a starting price a few weeks ago. Auctions have been caught out in the past with fake bidders planted amongst the crowd and with this you can't say for sure if all the other bidders were legitimate companies.

Time will tell as I cross my fingers and thumbs waiting patiently for an answer either way.