Greater Quad-City Auto Auction has teamed with General Services Administration (GSA) to hold the first public, client-specific Internet auctions.

According to GQCAA Owner and General Manager Larry Anderson, GSA approached GQCAA asking if the auction could develop a system specific to GSA. Anderson explained that many hours of research were devoted to seeking software that would meet GSA’s requirements.

“From the very beginning, we were told by software experts that what we wanted didn’t exist, and that our best solution was to use one of the products already on the market,” explained Anderson. “But that wasn’t the answer we wanted, so we redoubled our efforts and proved that even when others say something can’t be done…we show that it can.”

In spite of the challenges, it only took 45 days to develop the system, from presentation of the idea from GSA to implementation at the first sale. The first GSA Internet auction (I-Auction) was a success, with 35% of the offered vehicles selling online. The second auction spanned seven days, from June 11 through June 18 and showed even greater results, with a 58% Internet sale rate.