CHRIS: And then, Ron, do you want to hit on search functionality here?
RON: You touched on that previous slide about the search and the Elasticsearch and how that works. But you want to make sure that you don't make it difficult for users, like a needle in a haystack, right? You want to be able to go in, and if there are a million items going up for auction and all these different types of auctions, I just want to know, “Are any of these selling any heirloom jewelry? Show me all those. Make it quick. I want to look really quick because that's what I focus on.” Or I focus on antiquities, and so I really want to see all the old furniture from the twenties. Great. Well, that's very specific.
So we have to be able to find that one thing. Can I find that, and can I make an offer via the eAuction software? Can I buy it now? Do I literally have to wait for it? Because if they've got a Buy It Now price or if they have the option for me to make an offer, I'll make offers on all of it right now, because I've got an hour right now. Today, on Saturday at 11 a.m., I've got an hour free. But after that I don't have time, so I'd love to make an offer on this stuff because that'd be great. So I'll make an offer. Or if it's Buy It Now and it's good enough, I'll just buy it now and then I don’t have to deal with that.
[Is there the ability to] see if there are any savings or discounts, right? Do they come back, and if you buy multiple items, we'll give you 10% off right? Typically not something you would think in an eAuction, but when you talk about B2B and people are buying in bulk and they're buying in online auctions—you mentioned a minute ago about the container. If you fill up a container, we know we can ship a container for 1500 bucks. Well, I might as well fill up the whole container. That saves me a ton of money in shipping. So that would be a savings and a discount. But if you don't tell people about that and they don't know about that, then they're not going to capitalize on that, right? It's going to bite them.
What about the evidence in the validation process?
CHRIS: Yeah, this is a great one to close this out on. And fundamentally, these eCommerce auction websites are about trust. And we're establishing that trust and conveying that between the buyers and the sellers by allowing them to host their auction, then bid on this eAuction platform. And so ultimately, in order to maintain that trust and build on it, there has to be a validation process. So your internal team, in collaboration with a partner like us, we really encourage you to think about this thoroughly.
Some key questions that we like to ask are, “Was the item as described, how was the interaction rated, the actual interaction that occurred for the purchase and fulfillment? And then what was the actual lead time versus the projected? And then what condition do the item arrive in where they're charges and were they fair?”
RON: The next one would be, what were the charges? Were the charges fair? Was the shipping done correctly? And the last one is, if [the equipment] was used, did it need to be certified? Was the condition proper? Did it work as described when it was shipped to you? Is it in the same condition that it was shown as being sold?” Maybe the picture they show when it was sold was a five-year-old picture, but now all of a sudden it shows up and the paint's completely faded and there's some rust and it looks nothing like the pictures that were actually on the site. You want to make sure that, as you do these final closeout audits and surveys and ratings on the B2B auction, that you're asking the questions that drive the appropriate behavior.
So anyway, that closes this out today. We really covered a lot about the B2B, that was a lot of fun. That is a great type of auction. And if you have any questions about how to work a B2B auction, please go to our website, Clarity-Ventures.com, click to schedule a demo. You’ll jump on a call with me. I'll answer all your questions, and if I can't answer them, I'll get Chris to jump in on the call. We look forward to seeing you on a future webinar, and thanks for joining us today.
CHRIS: Thanks, everyone. Bye for now. Thanks, Ron.