Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc. Unveils Internet Auction for Salvage Vehicles
20 January 2000
Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc. Unveils Internet Auction for Salvage Vehicles
SCHAUMBURG, Ill., Jan. 20 -- Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc.
, a leader in automotive total loss and salvage services,
introduced its new Internet-based salvage vehicle auction in conjunction with
its live auction held earlier this week in Wheeling, Illinois. This new
service, accessible from https://www.iaai-bid.com , will be implemented
throughout the rest of the country during the first half of this year, giving
buyers Internet bidding access to IAA's annual inventory of more than 500,000
salvage vehicles.
Unlike other Internet salvage auctions which only offer "sealed" bidding
(that is, all bid amounts remain secret until the auction is closed), IAA's
new iaai-bid.com (SM) will provide an open, competitive bidding environment.
iaai-bid.com was developed to uniquely combine the dynamic marketplace of the
live salvage vehicle auction with robust electronic capabilities commonly
found in many industry-standard online auctions, such as eBay(TM), Yahoo!(R)
and Amazon.com (R).
Christopher Knowles, Chief Executive Officer of IAA said, "We believe that
the characteristics of the salvage industry support our decision to
aggressively invest in our business-to-business Internet capability. We are
excited with the potential for our Internet-based business and believe we have
created the salvage industry's first buyer-friendly, interactive Internet
auction."
Knowles continued, "We will expand buyer participation in our auctions by
reaching buyers who traditionally could not attend our live auctions. In
addition, this new service will provide our current buyers with a convenient,
alternative means of bidding on salvage vehicles without having to stand at a
live auction for 2 or 3 hours. It will enhance our buyers' efficiencies and
improve supplier returns by broadening our buying audience and creating online
bidding excitement." Access to iaai-bid.com and the ability to submit an
unlimited number of online bids is free-of-charge to any qualified IAA buyer,
with IAA's Illinois-registered buyers getting the first opportunity to use the
new IAA Auction Center.
IAA piloted the new program in the fourth quarter of 1999 with a
cross-section of buyers representing six different states. Feedback and
suggestions from the pilot groups were incorporated into the software prior to
its introduction today. Knowles stated, "We are firm believers in
Internet-based technology and solutions. Our online auction has been very
successful for well over a year in our Specialty Salvage Division (which
handles exotic and luxury cars, boats, heavy equipment, trucks and RV's). In
fact, over half of our Specialty units were sold via the Internet during 1999.
iaai-bid.com is yet another indication of our commitment to expanding our
capabilities in this important area."
About Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc.
Founded in 1982, Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc. is a leader in automotive
total loss and specialty salvage services in the United States, providing
insurance companies with cost-effective, turnkey solutions to process and sell
total-loss and recovered-theft vehicles, a $3 billion per year industry. The
company currently has 50 auction sites across the United States. Additional
information about Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc. is available on the World Wide
Web at http://www.iaai.com .
This press release contains forward-looking information that is subject to
certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those projected, expressed, or implied by such forward-looking
information. In some cases, you can identify forward looking statements by
our use of words such as "may, will, should, anticipates, believes, expects,
plans, future, intends, could, estimate, predict, potential or contingent,"
the negative of these terms or other similar expressions. The company's
actual results could differ materially from those discussed or implied herein.
Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include but are not
limited to those discussed in the company's annual report, Form 10-K for the
fiscal year ended December 31, 1998, or subsequent quarterly reports. Among
these risks are legislative acts, changes in the market value of salvage,
competition, quality and quantity of inventory available from suppliers, and
dependence on key insurance company suppliers.
iaai-bid.com is a service mark of Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc. All other
company or product names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their
respective owners.