sgCarMart offers live auction service to Government agencies via subsidiary

Nov. 11, 2010 - PRLog -- Singapore - Quotz, a subsidiary of sgCarMart, has been appointed by two government agencies to provide online auction service for the sale of their vehicles. Set to be launched on 30 October 2010, Singapore Customs and National Environmental Agency will be the first government agencies in Singapore to conduct vehicle auctions online. The vehicles being put up for auction will mainly consist of confiscated vehicles as well as old vehicles due for replacement. This will replace the traditional physical auction methods used in the past.

Few of the many reasons why government agencies has turned to online auction instead of the traditional auction house method is because bidders do not have to spend precious time and effort to view the vehicles physically, and they can bid from the comfort of their offices. More importantly, the large number of bidders and bidding anonymity eliminates the possibility of collusion among bidders. Furthermore, the online bidding system is expected to improve competition and thus transparency within the motor vehicle auction trade. The new system also streamlines the current administrative procedures.

With over 200 registered users who represent companies in the vehicle trade, Quotz makes use of an online bidding concept to obtain the best price for sellers. Quotz will survey and place up all the details of the confiscated cars online, allowing the registered users to engage in open bidding.

“Quotz has always been providing auction services for car owners who are looking to sell their cars with great success. Offering this online auction service to government agencies is just a natural extension for us,” said Mr Steve Ong, Director of Quotz Pte Ltd. He added, “Different agencies are exploring ways to improve the efficiency of the car auction service, and online is one option they are considering. Hence, we came on board and conducted a pilot testing for Singapore Customs to gauge the effectiveness. The results of the pilot testing proved encouraging, and they have signed a long term deal with us for this service.”

The online auction system took two years to conceptualise and develop. The system has many convenient features, and these include effective transmission of vehicle details and photos to car dealers islandwide, allowing over 200 dealers to participate in the open bidding at the same time.

Mr Sim Bok Tiong, who has been in the exporting trade for the past 15 years, was more than pleased to hear the news. “Not only will precious time be saved, having to place a bid without going against your fellow friends in the trade is definitely better as well.” said Mr Sim.

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Owned and operated by SGCM Pte Ltd, sgCarMart.com is Singapore’s Number 1 car site. With almost 10,000 car listings, it offers the largest database of new and used cars for sale in Singapore. sgCarMart.com attracts more than 1.5 million visitors every month and as a testament to its popularity, it has been awarded the Most Popular Automotive Site in its category for four years running by Hitwise since 2005.