Industry Insights from the Road: What We’re Hearing Across the Auction & Resale Community
Catch up on the latest industry trends and insights from auctioneers and resellers as HiBid attends key events across the country
Though we're still early in 2026, the first few months have already given us wonderful opportunities to connect with auctioneers, resellers, and industry partners from across the country. Whether at state conventions or national conferences, these early events have sparked meaningful conversations about the future of the auction and resale industries.
In the past few weeks, our team has been on the road attending events in Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, Ohio, Kansas, Minnesota, Kentucky, Missouri, Wisconsin, Iowa, Arkansas, Illinois and Ontario. Many of these shows were hosted by state auction associations, and we also participated at the National Retail Federation's reverse logistics focused conference (NRF Rev). At every stop, it was clear how quickly the industries continue to evolve, and business owners are eager for new strategies to adapt, grow, and stay competitive.
Tyler Sanne, HiBid's Sales Manager, noted that at NRF REV, conversations consistently pointed to a few clear priorities: improving recovery rates on returned and excess inventory, building stronger partnerships across the supply chain, and driving greater operational efficiency throughout the liquidation process. There's also a growing sense of optimism around AI's potential to play a meaningful role in this space, even as most organizations are still in the early stages of figuring out what that looks like in practice.
At the same time, conversations with auctioneers and their teams at state association conventions covered a wide range of topics. One of the biggest areas of interest was the concept of AI-powered cataloging tools, along with the more streamlined marketing features and improvements to our search technology that help drive more traffic to their auctions. Another theme that continued from last year was the stronger focus on customer care as well as the technological opportunities to support auctioneers, their customers, and their businesses.
“These events are a grassroots way for us to connect directly with our customers, work with them on a personal level, and make sure their wants and needs are heard and acted on.”
— Kris Kennedy, Chief Evangelist
Taken together, these conversations highlight how important collaboration and the exchange of ideas are within the auction and resale communities. Events like these aren’t just a chance to reconnect with industry peers, they’re also an opportunity to learn from one another, share experiences, and adapt as the marketplace continues to evolve. We look forward to learning, hearing seller perspectives, and building a better business, together, through upcoming events in Q2 and Q3!
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