Short answer: we run our auctions on HiBid because it puts our Hermosa, South Dakota auctions in front of bidders all over the country while still letting us do the local part ourselves. Sellers get more eyes on their property, buyers get a bidding system that's simple and fair, and nobody has to drive to a sale barn on a snowy Saturday. You can see everything we have running right now on our HiBid auction page.
What does HiBid actually do for me as a bidder?
HiBid is the online platform where the bidding happens. You register once, and that same account works for our auctions and for thousands of other auction companies across the country. No new password for every sale.
Once you're in, you can browse lots with photos and descriptions, watch items you're interested in, and place a bid or set a maximum bid and let the system work for you. If you've ever wondered why we ask for a max bid at all, we wrote up an explanation of how maximum bidding works and who can see it. The short version: the system bids for you in increments, and it won't jump straight to your ceiling.
You'll also get outbid notices by email, so you're not sitting at your computer all evening refreshing a page. And because closings are staggered, you're not forced to choose between two lots that end at the same second.
Why does a nationwide platform matter for selling in western South Dakota?
Here's the plain math. If we sell a welder or a set of hand tools at an in-person sale near Hermosa, the buyers are whoever showed up that day. On HiBid, that welder is visible to someone in Gillette, someone in Sioux Falls, and someone in Ohio who has been hunting for that exact model for two years.
More bidders generally means the item finds its real value instead of its convenient value. That matters most on the things that are hard to price locally — shop equipment, generators, construction attachments, firearms, collections, specialty gear. It also matters for estates, where the family often has no idea what a shed full of tools is worth and needs the market to tell them. If you're weighing your options, our page on selling with us walks through how we handle everything from a single item to a full estate.
The other benefit is the record. Every lot has photos, a written description, and a bidding history. When you're settling an estate or dividing property among family, having that documented sale price in one place saves a lot of arguments.
How does the online part fit with your local service?
This is the piece we care most about. HiBid handles the bidding. We handle everything else — and that's not a small "everything else."
We take the photos ourselves, and we take a lot of them. We write descriptions that tell you what we know and what we don't, including the flaws. If you have a question about a lot, you call or email and get an answer from Matt or Dawn, not a ticket number.
Then there's the part after you win. We give extended pickup windows because we know people work, travel, and live two hours away. We help load. We answer questions about crating and shipping instead of leaving you to figure it out — there's a full rundown of what pickup and shipping really look like if you want the details before you bid.
A platform can't do any of that. A neighbor can. That's the split, and it's worked well since 2018.
If you're new to all of this, start with our frequently asked questions, then register on HiBid and watch a couple of auctions before you bid on anything. It makes more sense the second time through.