OBS Sales Has Stayed On The Forefront Of Technology For Sales

ONLINE AUCTION CHANGES THE GAME  

Before the pandemic happened, Wojciechowski said he would have had a hard time imagining people being interested in buying horses through online auctions. But after many people were ordered to shelter in place, some changes had to be made to keep the wheels of business spinning forward.

"Suddenly, there was quite an impetus behind getting it," Wojciechowski said. "We were the first auction company, at least in the United States. I don't know about it internationally, but we were the first auction company in the country to offer online bidding on a live auction event."

The practice has now become commonplace. With the technology available, customers are able to see all the information they need with today’s strong video quality.

"Now it's become commonplace, you know, before COVID, I would have said, I don't see how that works," Wojciechowski said. "And after COVID, I don't know how we lived without it. It's become a part of the fabric of the sales. The videos of the under tack show become such an important tool that buyers use, particularly if they're not able to attend the under tack show in person."

Wojciechowski remembers attempting to use videos in his old role before the technology reached the point it is at now.

"I can tell you, I sold 2YOs prior to taking over as director of sales and we used to have a VHS camera, and you would video your own horses and then have a VHS tape back at the barn for people to see their under-tack show," Wojciechowski said. "My wife would be out there with this giant VCR hanging out on the balcony, a viewing stand, trying to video the horses. And now, you know, by our first set of breezes, we break about anywhere from 40 to 50 head to groom to racetrack. By the time the tractors are about off the racetrack, we've got that first set of videos up on our website, and people are already looking at it."

OBS HORSES HAVE MADE AN IMPACT 

White Abarrio has been one of the top horses OBS has sold. In addition to winning the Breeders' Cup, he has earned nearly US$5 million in his career.

"He was a two-time sales graduate at OBS," Wojciechowski said. "He graduated from our mixed sale as a short yearling, and then sold with our March 2YOs in a training sale."

However, OBS has had a wide array of successes, both domestically and abroad.

"Obviously, we'll point to that one first," Wojciechowski said. "But I would say, you know, whether it's the 135 graded stakes winners we've had this year, 33 entrants on Breeders Cup weekend. The number of participants that we had in Dubai and in Saudi for the Saudi Cup, and the success that we experienced over there, the success we experienced in Japan. I think, you know, it really kind of has an international flavor, not just a domestic flavor."

PICKING HORSES FOR AUCTION IS A COLLABORATIVE PROCESS  

When it comes to selecting horses for the auction, OBS finds that communicating at all levels of the process is important. OBS wants to build relationships and attempt to make sure they can find the best product.

"It's not as much cherry-picking as it is having a great relationship with our sellers and helping them try to figure out the best time to sell their horses," Wojciechowski said. "We tell people all the time, if you're getting your young horses ready and you have one that you wish the sale was tomorrow, that it's very forward, aggressive. That's a March horse. If you have one, he says, you know, another week or two, this horse, the light bulb will go off. That's an April horse. And if you have one that says, you know what? He's a little immature. He's a later fall. He needs to grow up. That's a June horse, and really working with our consignors to help them place their horses in the best sale, that allows them to display their horses' abilities. That's really the key to keeping it moving and doing well with the horses. So, it's the process behind the scenes."

What is most important for Wojciechowski is bridging the gap between the interested parties. OBS deals with buyers and sellers.

"Their interests don't always align," Wojciechowski said. "So, we try to keep that in mind, but most often they do. Providing a quality facility and environment for the seller of horses so that he can display his horse's ability and display his wares as best as possible is a concern to us, and then also creating comfort and availability for the buyers. Ultimately, the most important thing that creates a kind of client loyalty is the success of the horses on the racetrack."

HANDLING THE CHALLENGES IN STRIDE 

Dealing with issues around domestic and international customers is fun but can provide some procedural issues.

"I wouldn't say difficult,” Wojciechowski said. "There are some challenges. You know, sometimes the time difference is an issue. Language barriers can be an issue. But we try to make sure that we have those bases covered to try to make the buyers feel as comfortable as they can."

OBS doesn't have a robust staff, but they are a dedicated bunch with a lot of experience in the field. In order to keep everyone happy, the people at OBS wear a lot of hats that make it appear they have more people involved.

"We are a very tight-knit unit, and we wear a lot of different hats, and most of the buyers know that they could walk in my office anytime with any problems they may have,” Wojciechowski said.

OBS PLANS FOR FUTURE 

Wojciechowski said that OBS has a strong business, specializing in 2YOs. 

"I don't know that expanding our sales reaches a point where a lot of our buyers say, hey, don't make them much larger. We can't handle going. Keep in mind that the year two-year-old sales are quite different from the yearling sales in that these horses are here for an extended period of time."

Wojciechowski said he is proud of how their April sale goes.

"Which is kind of our flagship sale,” Wojciechowski said. "It spans over seven days. And I tell everyone all the time, that nobody breezes more horses over as many days as OBS anywhere in the world. With all that said, I don't know how much we can expand the existing sales. I suppose we would always keep an eye on adding a sale later. If it's warranted, I see us moving into digital sales. We have not. We've been a little slow to that market, but I can see us getting in there in the future and then also continuing to upgrade our facilities and just trying to make the customer experience as positive as possible."

By Dean McHugh