"If there's rust developing or a nick or a dent ... we'll disclose all of that stuff, so consumers actually know what they're buying," says owner Adam Beres.
Businesses and non-profit organizations regularly open and move in Saskatoon. Today the StarPhoenix talks to Adam Beres, who opened Cache Grab Auctions in January. Located in Saskatoon, the 25-year-old sells hunting, fishing and firearms-related products in an auction format that provides detailed information and high-quality pictures of every item for sale. Buyers can visit his robust website, and sellers can fill out an online form to have their items listed and then make arrangements to drop off items for sale at his warehouse in the Marquis Industrial area.
Q: What made you decide to open Cache Grab Auctions?
Q: What types of items will people find in your auctions?
Q: Why did you call your business Cache Grab?
A: It’s kind of a double meaning. It can mean a couple things, like cache or cash, like money, and with Cache Grab if people are trying to sell any item or to buy it, it’s kind of like a cash grab. And then I spelt it cache so like a cache of items, weapons or hunting supplies. We use the word cache, so I think that’s a cool name and actually it suits us very well. Our logo has a vault handle behind, which represents that cache part of it but then it’s got a hand with cash in it, so it’s got a double meaning as well.
Q: How do your auctions work?
A: Customers have full control. If someone has an item they want to sell they basically go onto the website and there’s a sell with us form. They click on that and fill in info about the item. If it’s a gun, what’s the make, what’s the caliber? And for auction purposes there’s a minimum bid that they set. If they want to get at least $1,000 for an item they can put $1,000 for the minimum bid. And then there’s a length of time they want it on there — any range up to a month they can set. Then we take that data and put it on the website and if a bidder wins the item there’s just a simple online check out like any other retailer online. Once they win the item it appears in their cart and then they check out.
Q: What fees do people pay for using your website?
A: There are zero buyer fees. A lot of the auctions, if someone wins a bid they have to actually pay a fee to even get that item, anywhere from 10 to 15 per cent usually. But we scrapped that idea because I don’t feel you should be charging the buyer extra fees. Our zero fee on the buyer side brings in a lot more users.
And then, compared to other (firearms) auction services we have the lowest fees across Canada for sellers. So it’s not just here in Saskatoon or in the province but it’s Canada-wide, we have the lowest fees. Obviously, when the seller sends in their items, it depends what it sells for, but there’s fee brackets. It goes anywhere from 15 to 25 per cent depending on what the item sells for but in short, we have the lowest fees across Canada. I’ve verified that.
Q: What can people expect to find with your auction listings?
For the firearms, we have gradings up top. If it’s brand new it will say never shot, never fired. If it’s got some wear on it you’ll hover over it and it shows kind of a big description of what that means. I’ve sold firearms privately and people are really concerned about the condition. I’ve bought stuff used and people don’t disclose information. So we’re 100% transparent on all that. For if there’s rust developing or a nick or a dent here we’ll disclose all of that stuff so consumers actually know what they’re buying and they’re a lot more confident. That’s kind of the main thing that we offer is full transparency on every good.
In terms of the overall website, we have a lot of sorting and filtering options which every other site lacks. It’s usually just thrown on a page with everything else. Then their users are just kind of scrolling through endless pages trying to find something. If they’re looking for a specific item they can’t filter on other websites but in mine, you can. It’s just overall a more user-friendly, visually appealing website. A lot of people have mentioned too that they like the website and that it’s easy to navigate.
Q: How do people find out about your auctions?
This interview has been edited and condensed.
Cache Grab Auctions
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