Marketing

Two weeks apart, two completely different conversations, the same sentence came out of my mouth. On February 24, I told a bidder verification startup to make their pricing model “super simple, my mom can read it.” They’d built a tiered structure with base fees, per-bidder charges, monthly active user fees, revalidation windows, and a bidder-pay option. Smart people solving a real problem. But the pricing had become a mirror of their engineering, not what they were actually selling. I pushed them to kill the MAU charge entirely because customers would think they were being double-charged. Simplify to two price points: one flat fee for new bidders, a lower one for returning. They agreed. ...

Last August, I had a conversation with a colleague that stuck with me. We were talking about whether auctions actually find true market value. My argument was simple: how can it be true market value when maybe 5-10% of potential buyers ever see our marketing? We’re calling it market value based on whoever happened to show up. I wrote about it at the time. My answer was to build communities, find your own lake, pursue smarter marketing instead of more marketing. I believed it. I still do. But six months later, I think I was thinking too small. ...

Five Guys fills your fry cup, drops it in the bag, then scoops another ladle on top. The generosity is staged so you witness it. Jerry Murrell didn’t give customers more fries. He gave them the same fries in a way that felt like more. The question a friend posed: is there an auction industry version of this? Can a business with two customer types (sellers who want maximum return, buyers who want fair access) create a single “fries” moment that lands for both? ...

Building better markets instead of chasing perfect prices Let’s talk about something every auctioneer thinks about: Are we actually finding true market value? I had an interesting conversation recently with a colleague about whether auctions reveal what something’s really worth. Sure, they can. But here’s what bothers me. We’re calling it “true market value” when maybe 5–10% of potential buyers ever see our marketing. How’s that the true value? This isn’t just theory. It creates real problems. ...