When Rock Island Auction Company completely redesigned their webpage in 2016, vast improvements were made to the look of the site as well as its ease of use. We’re proud of the continued success we see from the upgrade and of our IT Team who put in a lot of time and hard work to achieve the results they did. Thankfully, they had numerous other ideas of how to keep RIAC setting the bar higher when it comes to features and usability. One of those great features is our text message alerts.

What Are Text Message Alerts?

You have the option of receiving a text message alert for any lot on which you would like to be bid on live in person or via phone or online bidding. These text alerts will arrive 20 lots prior to the lot you would like to bid on. If you request an alert on items earlier than lot 20, you’ll simply receive an alert that the auction is beginning. This allows you plenty of time to prepare in any way needed and lets you know that one of our trained phone bidders will be calling you soon or that you need to get on your computer to bid.

Why Should I Use Alerts?

Before each auction, Owner and CEO Pat Hogan tells all our employees taking phone bids, “You don’t work for Rock Island today. You work for the person on the other end of that phone,” and they take that to heart. Not only is it bad business when you can’t reach a willing and ready bidder, but it’s also personally disappointing because a collector may have missed out on a item that was truly important to them. Our phone bidders are the best in the business, but they can’t win an item for you if they can’t reach you. The Text Alerts are just another reminder that you should be receiving a call from your phone bidder shortly.

Text Message Alerts are another way to help avoid missed opportunities on item you want no matter which live bidding method you use.

How to Receive Them?

1. Sign into your account.

2. Browse and bid as usual. When you come across an item you would like to get a text message alert on, simply press on the “Text Reminder” button to the right of the listing and a pop-up window will appear.

3. A pop-up window should automatically fill your cellphone number on file if you are signed in. If you are not signed in, you will be directed to do so and then your number will populate.

4. If the cell phone number is the one you would like to use, press okay and you will be signed up for text alerts. If you want to enter a new number, press on the drop down menu and select enter a new phone number. After doing so, then you will press OK and be registered for text alerts.

5. If you would like to review which lots you are receiving alerts for, you can go to your account home and click on “Text Alerts” on the side bar. A list of you alerts with the number you chose to send them to will appear.

That’s all it takes! We already reach out to every phone bidding client at the beginning of each auction day, but an extra step like this is yet another way that RIAC makes sure you can bid on the guns you want. As an online bidder, this is a great way to help you not miss a lot no matter how fast the auction is going or what you are doing that day. As an added convenience, if you call the automated number that is sending the text messages, it will automatically forward you to our helpful staff here at RIAC. Those IT guys think of everything!

Legal Stuff:

Message and data rates may apply to Text Message Alerts