Agribusiness

Elders launches ‘eBay-like’ online stud sales option

Jon Condon, 01/04/2015

Elders has this week launched a new online livestock sales platform, www.livestock.com.au, which uses a time-based auction methodology similar to eBay.

livestock.comElders says Livestock.com.au offers producers the ability to sell or buy single animals (not pens or mobs of cattle) at auction, online, in real-time.

It says the platform offers security, with payments held in trust until a successful delivery is completed, and will be ‘cost-effective.’

The site appears to be designed primarily for seedstock sales, with bulls, registered females and semen packages among the early listings from early adopters like Te Mania Angus and Shorthorn Beef.

Elders spokesman Chris Howie said the platform was designed to provide marketing access to vendors who wanted flexibility and control in the sale of each individual animal.

“Livestock.com.au is a simple solution for producers wanting to sell single high-end animals or genetics, or those who may not have sufficient scale to run their own auction,” Mr Howie said.

“The vendor has full control of their sale, from listing through to delivery, and they have the ability to set a minimum price and a ‘buy-now’ function on their animal,” he said.

Buyers can browse listings on the site free-of-charge, and can bid on animals at a time and place that suits them.

“This method of sale has expanded rapidly in the United States and Europe and so the opportunity to offer a similar option to Australian producers is overdue,” Mr Howie said.

Te Mania’s Tom Gubbins, from Mortlake in Victoria posted the first 30 listings on the site, suggesting it was an effective way to market stock on an ongoing basis.

“We will often have animals standing in a paddock which are in fact for sale, so this platform allows us to advertise our stock at any time, without waiting for an auction or sale event,” he said.

Futurity Shorthorns’ Jason Catts said the industry had been waiting for a platform like livestock.com.au, which gave flexibility to both vendors and buyers.

“We’re using livestock.com.au to run an elite genetics auction for our members with many leading seed stock producers taking the opportunity to be part of the sale,” he said.

Mr Howie told Beef Central this morning that a major attribute of the site was “security of proceeds”.

“The whole platform is designed on cash before delivery going into trust accounts,” Mr Howie said.

“Then, once successful delivery is completed, the money is released.

“So the vendor and the purchaser have to mutually agree that everything is right.”

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