Your Wool - a guide to the auction process: Part Two:

Wool auctions are held every two to three weeks with a total of 20 held during the season - all the wool we sell goes through our auction system. The UK was the first country in the World to go fully online because of the Covid pandemic which offers a higher degree of flexibility and convenience to our buyers.

Richard Alderson, Head of Wool Sales at Ulster Wool said: “This flexibility allows buyers to attend more auctions and over the last 18 months, the number of buyers participating in the auction has increased including the use of an agency buyer who buys on behalf of smaller customers. This has seen an increase in the number of bids per lot with the agency buyer now buying anything up to 10% of all the wool auctioned annually.

“Before each sale, the auction files are produced and sent electronically to all buyers displaying all the lots being offered. Each sale lot has various technical information from the Wool Testing Authority which can include the micron, colour, expected processing yield, and vegetable matter.”

The weight offered in each auction varies between 1.0 - 1.3 million kgs attended by registered buyers, most of whom are merchants trading both within the UK and internationally and supplying end-users. They buy in lots of approximately 8,000 kgs and to encourage smaller scale users for whom 8,000 kgs would exceed their requirements, Ulster Wool can provide smaller bespoke lots.

Richard continued: “To give greater choice and flexibility for buyers, a percentage of the wool is sold forward on a three-month available basis.  This gives buyers the option of taking the wool at any time during this period. Once the wool has been sold, the buyer must pay for the wool before collection. Also, if the reserve price has not been achieved in the auction, we offer an option for the final bidder on that lot to negotiate after the auction has closed. All buyers also have the option post sale to enter bids on any lots that did not receive a bid in the live phase. If we do not achieve the reserve price, we are under no obligation to sell and have the option to take the wool back into stock.”

Ulster Wool auctions are there to maximize the value of wool to our members, ensure that members receive the true market value for their wool, and demonstrate the strength of the collective marketing system which is there to represent all members.