Q1 2024 Affiliate Newsletter

Q1 2024 Statistics/Milestones:

Total Auctions Closed: 1,067

Largest Auction by Sales: $728,768 Your Boat Club - Boat Show Blowout Auction https://www.k-bid.com/auction/52351

 Largest Auction by Lots:  3,893 Lots! ProGuard Sports Distribution Center Liquidation https://www.k-bid.com/auction/52823

Most Watched Items of the Quarter:  

291 Watchers - Sensational Indoor / Outdoor Patio Sectional with Ottoman:  View here
280 Watchers - NEW 2022 Kawasaki 300 Brute Force ATV :  View here
277 Watchers - 2008 TOYOTA 4RUNNER LIMITED EXCELLENY CONDITION -View Here
275 Watchers - Mid Century Wall Unit / Mid Century Modern Shelving Unit -View Here
258 Watchers - 2002 Keystone Outback 26RS Lite Way Travel Trailer - No Reserve! View Here

Website Statistics:

	Bidder Registrations
	2022	2023	2024
Jan	2,347	2,537	2,132
Feb	2,332	2,871	2,612
Mar	3,194	2,569	2,552
Apr	3,010	3,101
May	3,047	2,460
Jun	2,919	2,872
Jul	3,162	4,149
Aug	3,200	2,437
Sep	2,935	2,343
Oct	2,922	2,544
Nov	3,046	2,289
Dec	2,390	2,047

*all bidder signups, qualified (phone number verified, credit card) and non-qualified.   

	Website Sessions
	2021	2022	2023	2024
Jan	1,043,960	1,014,746	1,105,744	1,137,992
Feb	939,528	956,142	1,016,737	1,083,259
Mar	1,062,515	1,095,367	1,089,277	1,160,384
Apr	1,088,584	1,145,435	1,145,840
May	1,000,205	1,075,358	1,031,753
Jun	974,208	1,071,033	1,087,464
Jul	959,755	1,013,001	1,303,314
Aug	1,008,396	1,102,699	1,121,311
Sep	943,129	1,049,079	1,051,830
Oct	996,803	1,068,170	1,177,731
Nov	930,528	1,120,425	1,108,302
Dec	935,601	1,034,494	1,076,729

*A session is defined as a group of interactions one user takes within a given time frame on your website. Google Analytics defaults that time frame to 30 minutes.

Top 10 Affiliates by Sales for Q3 2023:

	Q3 2023
1	Twin Cities Auctions
2	NCS Auction Company LLC.
3	Your Boat Club
4	Estate Sales Minnesota
5	We Sell Your Stuff Inc.
6	Surplus Liquidation Auctions
7	KX Real Deals
8	Auction House
9	Asset Liquidation Auctions
10	Pickett Enterprises

Customer Support Numbers: 

Number of support tickets opened:  2,499

*K-BID utilizes Zendesk support system to communicate with buyers, affiliates and sellers.  This allows us to quickly and efficiently provide answers, support and connect buyers/sellers with affiliates.  

Number of seller leads received:  222

*Potential auction sellers can reach out to K-BID via our selling page or review affiliates to work with.  These leads are forwarded to affiliates who are in the area and/or have expertise in the asset class. If you have not filled out or optimized your affiliate profile page, you can be missing out on potential auction leads!  Learn more about your profile page here.

What's going on?:

Friendly Reminder:

We wanted to remind you that winning bidder invoices must be processed within 10 days of the auction closing.  Should you need an extension for any reason, please let us know by emailing [e-mail].

Open House at K-BID Corporate Office:

We would like to invite you and your staff to our office on May 17th for an open house!  We will have food, refreshments and some swag/prizes to give away.    

Our entire staff will be available for questions and conversations.  We look forward to showing you our new(ish) office, plenty of conversations and sharing some of the things we are working on.  

We look forward to seeing you!  

Date/Time:  Friday, May 17th from 11am - 4pm 

Address:  1400 County Road 29, Suite 1030, Medina, MN 55359 

RSVP:  We would love to have you join us! Please let us know if you will be attending so we can make sure to order enough food for everyone. Simply send an email to [e-mail]. We can't wait to see you there!

Staff Updates: 

We are pleased to announce the inclusion of Jon Wurtzler in our development team.  Jon brings with him over 10 years of development experience.  Jon has been familiarizing himself with our system and will provide valuable and much needed assistance in the development of new features and the maintenance of our website. 

Learn more about Jon: 

I grew up in northern North Dakota on a farm and graduated high school with a class of 11, if you can believe that. I got my MIS (Management Information Systems) degree from Concordia College in Moorhead MN (Go Cobbers!). I'm married with two amazing girls that keep me on my toes. I've got over 15yrs experience working in the web world, mainly for SAAS companies, so not afraid to work with clients when the need arises. I am primarily a PHP developer with extensive knowledge in frameworks and many of the latest coding standards that come with them. I've done basic websites using WordPress, mobile app web admin interfaces, and full web applications. I'm one to keep an open mind to what features could be added on, so always thinking of how to keep a system flexible and ready for anything.

Policy Updates: 

Our latest policy updates became effective on February 1, 2024. We have observed that the response from buyers regarding these updates has been minimal, with only a few complaints received. It seems that affiliates have also been largely unaffected by the changes.

Let's take a closer look at some data and bidding activity from February and March 2023, and compare it to the same period in 2024 after the policy updates were implemented.

(Feb and March Combined)	2023	2024
Auctions Completed	733	736
Total Bids Placed	685,081	755,743
Avg. Bids Per Auction	935	1,027
Avg. Unique Bidders Per Month	14,097	13,964
Total Website Sessions	2,106,014	2,243,643
Addtl. 2% BP Paid to Affiliates	$0	$138,711

The data shows negligible impact on bidding and traffic.  

Software & Marketing Updates: Stay tuned, much to come.  

K-BID Auctions In The News:

Surplus Liquidation Auctions successfully executed a major project for ProGuard Sports, resulting in the sale of nearly 4,000 lots. The impact of this auction was significant enough to gain recognition in the local Business Journal.

https://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/news/2024/02/16/hockey-distributor-pro-guard-sports.html

Affiliate Spotlight: 

We are looking for future affiliates to spotlight!  Please reach out to us at [e-mail] if we can showcase you.

Affiliate Name: Minnesota Elite Sports Cards

Affiliate Since: 2023

Location: Plymouth, MN

"Card collecting is special because it connects us, from young to old, well-off to those on a tight budget."

Sports card collectors come from all walks of life, each with a different story of why and what they collect. One thing I have found to be the same in nearly all collectors is how they got started, I’m no different. Many of my earliest memories are time spent with my dad and brother at Cardboard Heroes of Laurel, Maryland in the early 90’s. My brother and I would each get a couple bucks to spend at the shop culminating in Slurpies from the nearby 7-11. My dad was planting the seeds for his now world renown Cal Ripken Jr. and Roberto Clemente collection while my brother and I stretched our couple bucks as far as they could go opening packs of 1992 Triple Play. Our Childhood hero Cal emblazoned the box, we were fascinated pulling the likes of Ken Griffey Jr., Nolan Ryan, Frank Thomas, and local favorite Roberto Alomar. I can recite the poses of each player on the card even though I haven’t seen them in years, the smell of the shop, and the taste of the gum from the packs. Even though they no longer have any physical value, I always find myself setting them to the side when I come across them.

Card collecting is special because it connects us, from young to old, well-off to those on a tight budget. Sports cards are a hobby and past time that has endured the world’s highs and lows. While some collect for profit, most because they love it. I love it because of the people I get to meet, the stories I hear, and the rush of uncovering historic cards that may have not seen the light of day again and putting them in the hands of those that will treasure them.

I have been auctioning sports cards and collectibles on K-Bid for five months now and I truly look forward to my once-a-month pick-up days. Each month I meet new people and love to hear their stories while reconnecting with familiar faces excited to add a new piece to their collection. Last month I had the pleasure to meet a man who worked for the Milwaukee Brewers many years ago and share his memories of Hank Aaron, a couple minute pickup turned into an hour and a memory I won’t forget. Another visitor picks up items that he plans to donate to his kid’s local fundraisers. Jason frequently brings one of his kids by – who always leaves with a treasure of their choice. Louis and his son are diehard Harmon Killebrew fans, I love sending them a couple extras in their package hoping to make their day on the other end. And I always make sure to sneak something special into each auction for Karen, a local diehard Raiders fan. At the end of a busy pickup weekend, I enjoy recapping who has stopped by with my wife. While she would likely rather have our garage back, the smiles and days made are worth it.

Surprisingly to some, I took a 20+ year break from card collecting but like many started back up during COVID. One box of cards quickly turned into an office, then basement, then garage full and no turning back. My favorite part of collecting is my weekly card calls with my father. The shared excitement we have for uncovering vintage baseball cards, building sets, and those we meet gets us fired up.

No matter how you spend your time, card collecting or through other avenues, do it because you love it, it excites you, and builds friendships and comradery with those around you.

We’re here for your card collecting needs at Minnesota Elite Sports Cards. Beyond our auctions we’re happy to help you fill your collection needs, consult on any questions you may have, or just to simply talk cards! We hope to see you soon!

See this Blog Post Here - let us know if you want to be featured in future months!  

Have an idea for a future tip of the month that may be helpful for other affiliates?  Let us know by emailing [e-mail].