Four years ago, used car auctions went virtual. Many haven't gone back.

Jan 8, 2024
For a long time, the only way for dealers to buy at wholesale used car auctions was to go in person. Now, many of those auctions take place online.
For a long time, the only way for car dealers to buy at auction was to go to one in person. Many have moved to online simulcast.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Going once, going twice, gone! Farm auctions are moving online, and that's changing a rural tradition

Jun 5, 2023
Farm auctions — a marketplace for knickknacks, farm land and everything in between — are often also social gathering spaces for rural communities. That’s changing as more auctions go online.
Auctioneer Ryan Creamer calls a bid from inside the trailer cab, while Austin Creamer monitors online bidding from a laptop. At this farm auction, Creamer said live auctions with internet bidders are the best selling opportunities.
Elizabeth Rembert/Harvest Public Media

Auction industry readies for COVID-19 business closures

May 13, 2020
The last order of business for many bankrupt companies — restaurants in particular — is to put their assets under the gavel.
A closed restaurant in Washington, D.C., in March. Auction companies are predicting a wave of closures and liquidations due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images