EcommerceBytes-NewsFlash, Number 1499 - March 21, 2007 1 of 5 
An Interview with Online Auction Site Bid4Assets' CEO
By Ina Steiner
AuctionBytes sat down with online-auction site Bid4Assets CEO Jeffrey Weingrad to find out what he hoped to get out of attending the ChannelAdvisor Catalyst conference currently going on in Pinehurst, North Carolina. The 2-day conference brings together 400 eBay and online sellers. Bid4Assets is exhibiting at the event.
Jeffrey Weingrad said Bid4Assets (B4A) is expanding its reach and getting its name out. B4A also attended the recent conference put on by Infopia, which integrates with B4A. Weingrad said the response at Infopia was overwhelming, as they got to communicate the auction site's higher ASP to prospective sellers.
B4A is made up of government accounts, such as the US Marshals, as well as commercial accounts, which it breaks into two units - real estate and general merchandise. The Average Selling Price (ASP) for general merchandise on B4A is about $245, Weingrad said.
B4A is a high-value marketplace and is selective about sellers, who are vetted. Weingrad said they don't want to flood the marketplace, and have closed the jewelry category to new sellers. He believes sellers that offer differentiation are looking for additional channels so they can stand out in less crowded marketplaces.
So what categories are they trying to fill? B4A is looking to keep ASPs above $100 in categories such as electronics, sports equipment, collectibles and coins. (The hot selling category during last year's holiday season was jewelry.) Weingrad said the addition of some key employees with experience at other marketplaces, such as Eileen Stout, and the company's refocus, have energized his staff. They are currently working on some new marketing programs to increase exposure to help the new sellers they recruit. They are also working on a checkout program and are working to do some integration with payment services.
"We are working now to prepare for the fourth quarter holiday shopping season," Weingrad said. "We're working hard to expand our reach."
About the author:
Ina Steiner is co-founder and Editor of EcommerceBytes and has been reporting on ecommerce since 1999. She's a widely cited authority on marketplace selling and is author of "Turn eBay Data Into Dollars" (McGraw-Hill 2006). Her blog was featured in the book, "Blogging Heroes" (Wiley 2008). Follow her on Twitter at @ecommercebytes and send news tips to ina@ecommercebytes.com.
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