Taking Stock: will online buyers flock back to the sale ring?

Whether it's having a doctor's appointment over the phone, organising your weekly shop to be delivered to your door, or enjoying your local pub's famous Parmi from the comfort of your own home, the pandemic has made us adapt.

However, one current trend that was alive and well before the pandemic was buying livestock online.

For years, producers from across the country have sourced their sheep, cattle and goats "off the box" with plenty of success.

But the pandemic did speed up the conversion of those reluctant online buyers.

As the COVID numbers soared during last winter's northern stud selling season, so did the number of buyers purchasing bulls sight unseen over the internet.

Part of this trend was necessitated by COVID-19 enforced travel restrictions, which prohibited many buyers from interstate, and during some periods, from different regions, from attending sales in person.

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Helping driving the spike in online buyers was the fact most studs were willing to guarantee their animals, which helped to settle buyers' worries.

Their confidence was also boosted by the easy accessibility of estimated breeding values (EBVs) for each animal that went under the hammer, as well as videos and photos backing up the information.

It's fair to say EBVs played a crucial role in the sale of many animals, evidenced by the number of buyers who referenced a sire's "figures" while being interviewed by The Land about their purchases.

However, as the world continues to push towards a return to normality, one can't help but wonder if all of those online buyers will return to the sale ring when the selling season rolls around again?

Despite seeing the successes of buying sight unseen first hand last year, I am personally inclined to think that most buyers will still attend a sale as a first preference, rather than sticking to online platforms.

There's a variety of reasons for this thinking but the most common I come back to is that so many producers have told me that they still "love to get their eyes on a bull" in order to get a first-hand understanding of its temperament, style and overall appearance.

Based on my recent experiences during the northern ram sale season, the trend of buyers wanting to be at the sale in person was alive and well with most salegoers making the most of being able to handle a ram's fleece as well as view its overall qualities.

As well as learning about an animal, many producers will still see going to a sale as an educational experience for their operation as a whole, even if they do come home empty handed.

They'll still see the potential hours they spent travelling to the sale as a worthwhile cause.

There is also the social aspect of attending a sale. People have been starved of social outings during the COVID-enforced lockdowns and sales have provided a great platform for mates to catch up over a steak sandwich or cold beer.

Who knows, buying studstock sight unseen may one day be as common place as having a doctor's appointment over the phone, organising your weekly shop to be delivered to your door or enjoying your local pub's famous Parmi from the comfort of your own home but for now it seems like I'll see you at the sale.

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