“It was convenient, “ says MP’s Donna Gessert. “We were able to save money on equipment we needed and purchase it while keeping our business going throughout the day.” This is the first auction experienced by Molded Products, a manufacturer of medical dialysis supplies such as injection-molded syringe adapters and bloodline connectors. All bidders were able to view the equipment that was up for sale before auction day. But that was not enough for Gessert. Before auction day, October 31, 2001, she called her APS sales rep for more equipment information. “We wanted left and right bowl counters and the descriptions did not include that,” she says. “We also wanted to make sure we were bidding on the equipment we were interested in.” As for the bagger and imprinter, Gessert purchased a full warranty for 5% of the amount invoiced. “We didn’t view the machinery beforehand, so we wanted to make sure we were covered if something was wrong with the equipment,” she says. The full warranty includes onsite labor, installation, and training. Gessert placed three bids and won all three. “We stayed on all day and checked every hour,” she says. “In the last half hour we stayed online to win the highest bid of the day.” Payment was handled offline.
Read the Feb. Packaging World story that goes with this sidebar: Online auction gathers equipment buyers.
