Local automotive industry veteran Buddy Wakim is making bold claims to having developed the world’s first live online auction site.
The entire auction is conducted electronically, in real time, meaning dealers and buyers can interact via their computers from anywhere in the world.
The auction is completed in minutes, not days as with current E-Bay technology.
Wakim says the cost of using www.ibuyauction is a fraction of standard ‘physical’ auctions. Vehicles remain in the dealer’s possession, eliminating transport costs. There is no venue to hire or wages to pay, and commissions on sales are low.
A subscription to www.ibuyauction can be as little as $50 a month.
Automotive dealers are the only people allowed to sell via the electronic auction. If a private seller wants to use www.ibuyauction they have to bring their car to a subscribed dealer. This gives dealers the chance to either purchase the car, or consign it to their auction.
Dealers can create their own public or wholesale auction whenever they want, without having to leave their premises. They just upload details and photos of a car, or multiple vehicles, towww.ibuyauction and chose a date and time they want the auction to be held.
Each vehicle to be auctioned is automatically advertised through the on-line classified website,mycarads.com.au which Wakim has operated for the past two years.
Potential buyers can come from anywhere in the world, so theoretically the audience is almost unlimited. They register with www.ibuyauction and bid on a vehicle in real time, against other bidders.
If a potential purchaser is unable to bid at the online auction, the system has another clever feature – proxy bidding. This stores an individual’s highest bid pre-auction, then progressively bids on their behalf, at the appropriate time, in the live auction up to their nominated amount.
www.ibuyauction will take a deposit on the dealer’s behalf from the successful bidder and then put both the dealer and purchaser in contact with one another.
www.ibuyauction uses a secure encrypted payment gateway, and has a dispute resolution process in place should problems with a transaction arise.
The unique www.ibuyauction.com.au is covered by three certified Australian patents, with international patents pending.
“This is the evolution of online classified ads and traditional vehicle auctions,” says Wakim, who has owned various automotive dealerships for 39 years, and is the CEO of the ibuytrader network, which includes the on-line classified site www.mycarads.com.au
“Some auction houses offer a cumbersome ‘simulcast’ process over the internet, but vehicles still have to be transported to the auction location, and commissions are high.”
With www.ibuyauction dealers nominate a reserve price which is known only to ‘iBidBuddy’ the electronic auctioneer, who calls out each bid and the name of the registered bidder while recording it on screen for all participants to see.
Each auction begins with ‘iBidBuddy’ setting an opening price calculated using a unique patented algorithm system. When asked how it works, Wakim replies: “this is our secret eleven herbs and spices . . . our ‘special sauce’.”
Dealers can reduce the reserve price ‘on the fly’, provided they are linked into the system.
When the reserve is reached it is announced.
“I have spent the past four years bringing my on-line auction vision to reality,” says Wakim. “I want all dealers to benefit from it, and we’ll train them to use the system for free should they feel they need it.”
Full information about the claimed “revolutionary” technology is on www.ibuyauction.com.au
A video showing how the system works is below, or you can go to You Tube and type in ibuyauction.
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