NEW YORK – LiveAuctioneers, the world’s leading online marketplace for exceptional fine art, antiques and vintage collectibles, has released its 2018 Annual Report indicating not only another year of record results that outperformed competitors, but also a continued year-over-year pattern of growth that remains unrivaled in the industry.

Triple-digit increase noted in new-bidder sign-ups + 46% rise seen in bidding through LiveAuctioneers mobile apps

“Every year, LiveAuctioneers empowers auction-house partners to sell the most items possible to qualified art and collectibles bidders online. In 2018, over 630,000 items were won through LiveAuctioneers.com — that’s 135,000 more than our closest competitor,” said LiveAuctioneers CEO Phil Michaelson. “Our team continues to find new ways to use incredible technology – including machine learning, streaming video, mobile apps, and auto-scaling cloud servers – to get the right bidders to the right auctions at the right time.”

A staggering $196.9 billion in total bid value was processed through LiveAuctioneers in 2018. Also, mobile bidding continued its nonstop upward run, with a 46% year-over-year increase in the number of users opting to bid via LiveAuctioneers’ mobile apps. In all, 653,474 bids were lodged through this method, a testament to the commitment LiveAuctioneers made to app technology in 2009 with the introduction of an app for iOS (Apple) devices and the first live-auction bidding app for Android.

LiveAuctioneers’ notable 2018 year-over-year comparisons include:

• An increase of nearly 756,000 new bidders, reflecting 162% growth in the U.S., 110% growth in Asia, 172% growth in Europe, and a 161% increase in the number of new bidders across the rest of the world
• 80% growth in lots sold via timed auctions with automated clerking
• 271% growth in bidders joining auctions through LiveAuctioneers’ Custom Websites
• 75% increase in Saved Search alerts, with 6.7 million Saved Items

In addition, in 2018:

• LiveAuctioneers’ traffic surpassed other live online bidding platforms by 65%
• Over 5 million results were added to the complimentary online price results database
• 100,000 estate and individual consignment leads were provided to auction-house partners

During 2018, there were 63.8 million auction registrations, and a 281% increase was seen in the number of potential bidders who placed a credit card on file. More than 433.3 million pageviews were recorded, leading to more than 77.1 million bids being placed through LiveAuctioneers.

On May 12, 2018, LiveAuctioneers partnered with cryptocurrency and decentralized title registry Codex to present a groundbreaking auction of crypto-theme art. All lots were successfully sold – 80% of them through LiveAuctioneers, including the top lot: Guilherme Twardowski’s “CryptoKittie.” The winning bidder purchased the digital artwork through LiveAuctioneers for $140,000 and paid with cryptocurrency.

“While leading the industry in innovation and sell-through rates, LiveAuctioneers also places a priority on providing stable technology solutions. Our cloud-based systems achieved 99.99% uptime during the broadcasting of 120,000 hours of live auctions in 2018, while at the same time supporting the largest volume of web traffic and deepest level of engagement in our sector,” said Michaelson. “We’re known for being ‘first to market’ with revolutionary technologies such as mobile apps and automated clerking, and the year ahead will show that our world-class engineering team has not been resting on its laurels. The best is yet to come, and it’s going to benefit auction houses worldwide in ways they couldn’t even imagine.”

Click to view LiveAuctioneers’ Annual Report containing additional information about the company’s growth, trends and highlights of the past year.

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About LiveAuctioneers:

Founded in 2002, LiveAuctioneers digitally connects an audience of millions with the live-bidding action at almost 5,000 premier auction houses and galleries in 59 countries, providing a highly curated and trusted marketplace of unique items. Privately owned and headquartered in New York City, LiveAuctioneers is the world’s preferred online source for fine and decorative art, antiques, jewelry and vintage collectibles. A pioneer in mobile-bidding technology, LiveAuctioneers opened new horizons for bidders in 2009 with its development of both an industry-leading app for iOS (Apple) devices and the first live-auction bidding app for Android.