LiveAuctioneers.com, the Manhattan-based technology company that provides Internet live-bidding capability to nearly 1,300 auction houses worldwide, has rolled out a new timed-auction platform. Known as LiveAuctioneers Timed Live (LATL), the specially designed platform allows for automated closing of auctions at a pre-specified time, an option particularly well suited to smaller or single-consignor specialty auctions.
“We believe the new timed-auction platform addresses a specific need in the marketplace by providing auctioneers with a way to conduct fixed-timed and eBay-style auctions,” said LiveAuctioneers CEO Julian R. Ellison. “LATL can also be used as either a primary auction method or, in the case of larger, more-active auction houses whose core business is traditional auctions, as an auxiliary method of revenue generation.”
LATL combines the timed style of online auctions with the customary live-bidding close that encourages auction participants to bid quickly and aggressively to ensure they win the lot they desire. Timed Live auction catalogs are posted to LiveAuctioneers.com as
normal. There, potential bidders can register and, if desired, leave absentee bids per the customary method. When the pre-announced date and closing time arrive, manual absentee bidding ceases and an automated clerking console launches, accepting both live bids and absentee bids.
“With the availability of this new platform, every auction house has another string to add to their bow and the potential for a great new revenue stream, but without having to make any change to their usual slate of live events,” Ellison said.
