What Is the Best Wholesale Buying Format for Me?
3 mins
Exploring OPENLANE’s buying formats
When it comes to sourcing vehicles for your lot, it might seem a bit overwhelming trying to decide which buying format is right for you. In this article, we’ll explain each of the sales types available to you on OPENLANE, and how to decide which is right for your buying needs.
Auction
This is the sales format that many dealers are most familiar with. Just like at a physical auction, OPENLANE’s digital auctions take place on a specific day of the week at a specific time. Currently, OPENLANE’s scheduled auctions are held weekly on Mondays and Thursday from 2-4pm CT.
Before the auction starts, you’ll have the opportunity to review a run list — the vehicles that will be available to bid on — along with the starting bid for each vehicle. With so many vehicles on offer, you’ll want to be sure to use OPENLANE’s robust filtering options to find and target the vehicles that are right for you. You can add a vehicle to your watch list, create notes for yourself about each vehicle and set-up autobid to ensure you don’t miss any of the action.
Marketplace
OPENLANE’s marketplace format is very similar to the auction sale type, without the time crunch. The marketplace is always on, allowing you to view, make offers on and win vehicles at any time of day, from anywhere. You’ll see thousands of available vehicles each day, along with a date and time when the listing will expire.
Some vehicles also have a “Buy Now” price, allowing you to skip the bid/offer negotiating process, and buy the vehicle outright for a set price. If you’re not sure what a vehicle might be worth, OPENLANE has you covered. The suggested Black Book price range for each car is listed right on the vehicle description page, helping to ensure you’re not overpaying for a vehicle.
Absolute Sale
Absolute Sale is a feature on the OPENLANE marketplace, allowing buyers to easily identify vehicles they can win quickly. It brings the best of both the auction and the marketplace into one and indicates a seller’s commitment to selling the vehicle to the highest bidder received by 3pm CT that day. Absolute Sale is a tremendous tool for buyers who know the seller is serious about moving a vehicle, and it will go to the highest bidder at the end of the day.
As a buyer, you can filter vehicles by Absolute Sale. Once you find an Absolute Sale vehicle that fits your needs, you can bid on it until 3 pm CT, when bidding will close and the vehicle will be sold to the highest bidder. If a vehicle receives a bid within three minutes of its timer expiring, the vehicle will go into extension and allow time for more bids.
Finding the Right Format for You
The right buying format mainly depends on what is best for you, your time and your business. If you need to get inventory on your lot fast, and want to ensure you’re focusing your sourcing time and efforts on vehicles that sellers are committed to selling, the certainty and speed of Absolute Sale will help you accomplish that goal.
If you like the flexibility and convenience of sourcing inventory on your own schedule, from anywhere at any time, and are willing to put in the time to bargain a great deal, the OPENLANE marketplace might be your best bet. You can browse a broad selection of vehicle listings 24/7 to find exactly the vehicle you’re looking for, at the price you want.
If you like planning your week out in advance and dedicating a specific window of time for sourcing new wholesale inventory, the traditional timed auction format could be beneficial to your dealership. This allows you to find, bid and buy vehicles quickly in a fast-paced bidding environment — with the benefit of a scheduled bi-weekly auction.
Start Sourcing Vehicles
No matter what the needs of your lot are, OPENLANE has a buying solution for you. Whether you prefer the fast-paced action of the standard auction format, the flexibility and variety of OPENLANE’s marketplace or the certainty of Absolute Sale, OPENLANE has a sourcing solution for you.
If you’re not sure which sale format is right for you, OPENLANE’s dedicated team of sales professionals are here to help. You can learn more about OPENLANE’s buying process right now at openlane.com/buyers.