Hello all, my name is Marcel Duffy and I am the MD of Global Auctioneers.
A few months ago, I was asked by my marketing team to start to say a few words every few weeks and talk about all things Global. My first reaction to this request was that nobody wants to listen to me. But gradually over the following few weeks, the idea started to warm to me and so hence this brief (ish) message.
I suppose as the months go by this content will take shape and I’m hoping that I can turn it into a useful piece which is both interesting and informative.
I’m hoping to shed more light on the world of auctioneering, to open the world of Global up so that our valued customers and suppliers alike get more of an insight into what we are doing and what we are trying to achieve.
But firstly, seeing as though it is the first edition of this “thing” I think it would be appropriate to tell you a little more about myself and the inception of Global Auctioneers.
I am a 43-year-old married father of two, who started life in the academic arena of Salford University. I suppose I chose a University Education over work as then I had a thirst for knowledge which has never quite left me. I did have a part-time job at Kendals department store in the centre of Manchester where I stayed throughout my further education for 6 years.
My life then took me on a 20-year career in IT. From engineering to project management and then on to teaching.
It was in my teaching role many years ago when I was given a chance opportunity to dip into the auction world. I was asked by a friend if I would rebrand an established Auction House and upgrade all of its IT infrastructure and hardware. Plus create a new, fresher looking website.
I did this with relative success and as a result the auction house quadrupled its turnover over the next 12 months.
But forget the turnover! I was hooked!! In all of my 20-year career in various blue-chip companies, I had never quite experienced the hustle and bustle and pure excitement of a commercial auctioneers and I was hooked.
After some conversations and negotiations, I gave my mundane job up at a local High School to embark on a career as a Business Development Manager at a fairly large Auction House. I was addicted from the get-go and found myself becoming immersed in a fast-paced industry filled with various challenges.
After several years of cutting my teeth and becoming pretty good at my job, I awoke one morning to find that the job I was so passionate about was no longer. My employer had run into financial difficulties and literally overnight both myself and around 40 other staff found ourselves unemployed.
After a few weeks of pondering what the next chapter would be in my life. Should I go back into IT? Should I get back into Education? I couldn’t quite let go of the career I had loved for a few years and felt a sense of unfinished business.
I had lots of things running through my mind. What if I set up my own Auction House? I’ve learnt so much. How to do things, but more importantly how not to do things. This would be my opportunity to run something in the right way, my way.
No more frustrations about how things should be done etc. The opportunity to leave my mark on the world of commercial auctioneering!
After securing funding, calling in a few favours, scouring my little black book for leads and working pretty much 7 days a week for almost two years! I find myself here today, sat in my office writing this piece and still having to pinch myself at how far we have all come in such a short space of time. I say we as there is no way in the world I could have got to this stage without my wonderfully talented, enthusiastic and extremely hard-working staff.
We have all been on this journey together.
In less than two short years we have become the 3rd highest performing auction house on the I-bidder platform (the platform which administers our auctions). There are over 80 auction houses on this platform who sell consumer products like we do. Knowing this makes it even more of a mind-blowing achievement.
I think the reason we have achieved what we have in such a short space of time is the fact that we are extremely honest and transparent with both suppliers and customers alike. We hold our customers at the heart of everything we do and are customer centric through and through.
It delights me seeing all those smiling faces walking in and out of our sales rooms on a daily basis. You can almost feel the buzz of the place as people hunt for bargain and passionately defend the sought after lots they bid on as though they already own them. There really is no better feeling than being a winning bidder on the lots you absolutely love and winning them for a fraction of the price you would pay on the High Street.
I suppose the next chapter in Global’s existence is to shout. To tell everyone we meet what we do, how we do it and what a delight it is winning great consumer products for a fraction of the retail price.
Every new person I meet who asked me what I do for a living generally has never heard of a commercial auction house which is open to the public selling consumer goods. When I tell them that the industry as a whole is worth over 70 billion pounds annually in the UK alone, they are astounded!
That’s what drives me on. That is what makes me want to be the best and that’s why I wake up every single morning at 4.30am with a smile on my face. Ready to start again!
Right I think that’s enough for my first piece. I hope as I said at the beginning that it was both interesting and informative. I’m off now back into auction land, but I will be back again in a few weeks’ time.
Thanks for reading!
Marcel.
