John John Genovese of Malama Auctions joins host Tim Peters for this episode of the No Reserve Podcast. John John shares how he and his dad co-founded the company on Kauai 13 years ago, going to auction school together as first-generation auctioneers and running their very first sale out of items they found for free on Craigslist and the side of the road.

He walks through what it actually means to run an auction business on the smallest of Hawaii's four major islands, where 70,000 people are completely water locked with no highways or ferries connecting them to anywhere else. The early years were pure grassroots. John John and his dad hit every Lions Club, Rotary, and chamber of commerce meeting they could find, then walked neighborhoods handing out postcards by hand because they couldn't afford the postage. That door-to-door community outreach, more notification than sales pitch, is what built their reputation.

John John gets into the transition that reshaped the business: moving from live and simulcast auctions to online only. He noticed people standing in the room with a bidder card in hand, then quietly bidding from their phones instead. Life got in the way of people sitting through an eight-hour sale, and once he realized he was pouring time and money into something his community no longer valued, he flipped the switch. He talks about the pushback that came with it, the advice to make your best sale the transition sale, and why the people who swore they'd never come back showed up anyway.

The conversation covers the parts of the business that only make sense in Hawaii. Inter-island travel runs around $200 round trip per person, so you can't just take any sale anywhere, and most items have to sell to the population on the island they're already on. That geography pushed John John toward two things that kept the company lean: a collaborated auction model, where sellers handle the physical labor while Malama runs the marketing, invoicing, and scheduling, and a hard focus on reputation in a place where you'll see every buyer again at the one Walmart and the one Home Depot.

John John also talks about 808 Auctions, his newer brand built around Chinese equipment, trucks, and commercial assets, split out by asset class so it doesn't get lumped in with his estate and household bidders. He's opened a second yard on Maui, is working with partners on Oahu and the Big Island, and is candid about why he's building toward a lifestyle business rather than chasing growth for its own sake. The episode closes on his Gary Vaynerchuk influenced take on just getting started: You're better off trying something, failing, and fixing it than waiting until you're certain you'll succeed.

Leon Stoltzfus of PA Auction Center joins host Tim Peters and Andy Harbick for this episode of the No Reserve Podcast, recorded onsite at PA Auction Center's facility. Leon shares how his father bought the business in 2008 and spent five difficult years in the red before Leon joined in 2012 and the two of them started building something that actually worked.

Leon walks through how PA Auction Center grew into a five-auction-per-month operation covering variety sales, restaurant equipment, firearms, and tools and equipment. The consistent monthly schedule wasn't a marketing strategy — it was his dad's preference for routine. But it turned out to be one of their smartest moves, keeping marketing costs low and giving both buyers and consignors a reliable rhythm to count on.

He talks about the 2020 move from a 16,000 sq. ft. facility to a 140,000 sq. ft. building and what it actually takes to fill that kind of space. With 35 full-time employees and over 150 people on payroll, operations at that scale require more than hustle — they require systems, and that's where Leon says their focus is right now.

The conversation also gets into the live vs. online question. About half of PA Auction Center's revenue comes from online-only auctions, but Leon makes a strong case for why live auctions aren't going away, especially in Lancaster County, PA where auction culture runs deep. He sees live as less labor-intensive and easier to manage in ways that pure online operations often aren't.

Links:

1. PA Auction Center

Kirk Witcher of Witcher Auctions joins hosts Tim Peters and Andy Harbick on location in Wynne, Arkansas for this episode of the No Reserve Podcast. Kirk shares how Witcher Auctions grew from a small family business founded in 1972 into a fully modern, online-only operation.

Kirk helped grow the company by focusing on farm and heavy equipment, seller trust, and the buyer experience. He explains why they shifted from simulcast and drive-through events to timed online sales that often close at night, and why convenience and clear communication beat a long day under a tent.

Kirk discusses moving from marketplaces to a white-label platform to control brand, data, and the customer journey. He talks about replacing expensive print ads with targeted digital marketing, turning satisfied customers into paid “auction advocates,” and why the quality of registrations matters more than the raw count. You’ll hear practical coaching he gives sellers, like ignoring early bid totals and trusting the late surge, plus what his team watches to gauge auction health.

The conversation closes with where AI fits in the auction world, from quick valuation checks to training models on your own sold data. There are risks to manage, but the upside is real for bidders and auctioneers who learn by doing and keep their focus on honest descriptions, clean processes, and relationships that last.