A hot summer day in the middle of a dusty wheat field, the auctioneer standing on an old hay wagon, megaphone in hand chanting his call for the bidders and ladies in the background serving lemonade and cookies. Folks milling around looking at farm equipment and the gents all comparing prices.
Well – not exactly. It’s the middle of March, raining and chilly. At the top of the hill leading to Martin & Martin Auctioneers Inc. in Pelzer, SC, is a large field with trucks, tractors, RV’s and a large equipment trailer. Ahead are a large office building, more equipment and a large, open-air, auction area.
There’s a trailer behind a pickup truck with three Harley-Davidson motorcycles, one a police cycle. Company Vice President Jeff Martin explained that these were for an auction – no, he is not a motorcycle rider.
The building is massive -- “ten thousand sq. ft. of floor space including offices and auction area, and we could use more,” said Martin.
Martin & Martin Auctioneers is a family operated company, started in 1975 by George W. Martin, president and Jeff’s father. He had a formal education, had his own grocery business and decided to branch out after attending a number of equipment and cattle auctions. He first began as an auctioneer of construction equipment, and is still at it, licensed in more than 20 states.
The company specializes in construction equipment, truck and trailer auctions and has regional offices located throughout the southern United States.
Regional associates are Dru Mahoney and Tom Turner covering North Carolina and South Carolina; Jerry Dover for Georgia and Alabama; John Dorton for Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee; and C.E. Vaughn in Texas. Behind each territory manager is an entire team of workers, which include: auctioneers, accounting personnel, computer specialists, title clerk, security, field crews for loading and unloading, drivers for transporting equipment to and from the auction, mechanics, painters and sheet metal workers.
Jeff Martin’s cousin, Jennifer Martin, handles the company’s computer network, which includes a Web site with high-speed access. The company designs its own brochures and maintains a proprietary database of more than 60,000 names. A minimum of 15,000 full-color brochures are mailed for every construction equipment auction. Customer purchases are tracked and recorded so they can receive notices of similar auctions in the future.
An interested buyer or seller gets downloadable full-color auction brochures, an auction catalog with photos that is updated daily, maps with driving directions, hotel and airport information, an absentee bid form and an auction agreement and listing sheet.
The business is completely computerized, with its network managing data for the listing of all equipment available for auction. This network also allows the company to expedite funds to the seller following the conclusion of a successful auction.
Leads are developed by referrals, direct mail, from the Web site and regular clients. A prospective client will approach Martin & Martin to handle an auction. Once an agreement is reached, equipment is trucked in for pre-auction preparation. Cleaning, painting and some basic repairs are handled on site. Then the auction is publicized both nationally and internationally.
According to Martin, “If an auction is not promoted properly, if the advertising isn’t done and people contacted, the sale won’t be a success. Prospective buyers have the opportunity to examine the equipment, start it up and run it and, in general, take a very close look at what they may be considering for purchase.”
Martin said the company tries to advise the prospective buyer of any problems it is familiar with involving the equipment being sold.
“We afford our customers up to a week prior to the auction to examine the equipment completely, Martin said.
All equipment is sold at the time of auction. Nothing is stored for future sales. If an item cannot be sold then it is returned to the seller. Auctions are “as is – where is” and all sales are final.
Asked how he got into the auction business, “I was in it from day one,” Martin said. “I started when I was four years old as a ticket runner, running the tickets back to the office and as I got older I moved into more responsibility or activity. I will still run tickets if I have to.
“We were crawling as we got started. We were selling farm equipment and as time progressed we became very successful in the farm equipment industry, which finally backed us into the construction end. I took off for a few years, away from the business, and then came back to it. We are now the largest construction auction company headquartered in the Southeast.”
Martin explained the difference between construction machinery auctions and other types of auctions.
“It’s a different clientele, larger dollar volume – bigger equipment. We cover the southeastern, mid-Atlantic states. We have done more than 2000 auctions since we started. We’ve already done three this month. We probably do more than 30 a year. Our main operation is located here in Pelzer and we rent or lease locations in other areas as we need them.
“You saw that big trailer outside – we move that to the auction scene and a crew sets up and stays there until the auction is completed,” Martin said.
Martin and Martin attracts buyers throughout the United States, Canada and Central and South America. The concentration of buyers is from the United States, with most purchases made directly by end users, resulting in higher prices.
Despite the company’s success, “We haven’t forgotten our roots,” Martin said. “We deal with some of the largest companies around such as Ford Motor Credit, GE Capital, United Rentals – those people have been good to us just like the farmers. You have to treat every one of them the same whether they are large or small. We try to provide our customers the best service possible.”
Asked about future goals, “That’s a tough question to answer,” Martin said. “As times change, we will change. I want this company to be known as the leader in the auction field. I want our customers to know that this is a good company with a good reputation and good people.”
Is there anything he would change if he could?
“Can I back the clock up?” he asked. “I would go back and pick up those years that I got out of the business and stay in it. It is a great business and we have a great company.”
Martin & Martin Auctioneers, Inc. is located at 1618 Easley Highway, Pelzer, SC.
For more information, call 864/947-7888 or visit www.martinandmartinauction.com.
Today's top stories
