Auctioneer bidding on success.

A business from Saskatchewan has done what software giant Microsoft and others could not. Since 2000, Live Global Bid[TM] (LGB) has been pioneering live and interactive auctions over the World Wide Web. The innovative technology that it developed in its Moose Jaw offices has revolutionized the auction industry by allowing anyone with access to high speed Internet to participate in live sales taking place in locations around the world.

Barry White, CEO of Global Communications, the parent company of LGB, says that in addition to higher prices, live online auctions offer the benefits of personal security, travel cost reductions and time savings.

"Now bosses can sit in their offices and go to several auctions in one day," says White. "They can purchase the inventory they need at home without incurring expensive travel costs and being away from their business for lengthy periods."

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White began his online business as a means to diversify his auctioneering services. He says that a chance comment from someone installing a telephone line for him about how he should consider using the Internet to auction his products got him thinking. He laughs when he says he wasn't your typical "e-business" executive, in fact, computers barely factored into his life at that time. Now the Internet and the World Wide Web are what drives his entire business. "We originally developed an online auction similar to what eBay offers but we quickly came to the realization that we needed live auctions to make things interesting," he said.

White thought he could just purchase some off-the-shelf product to make this happen. As it turned out, no such product existed. Realizing the potential that could come with this business idea, White and his wife Barb risked everything they had, mortgaged themselves to the hilt, and haven't looked back since.

An initial endeavour to have an out-of-province company develop the necessary software for him produced unsatisfactory results so White hired some of Saskatchewan's best and brightest computer programmers to develop the software package for him onsite where he had more control.

White says there were a lot of sleepless nights for him and Barb when they started down this road. He attributes a great deal of his company's success to having excellent employees and investors who have remained loyal from the start.

"Most of our staff are investors in the company. They don't work for us. They work with us. We took some great risks together and we've seen tremendous results," he says.

It took his team about three years to develop the technology to the point where they felt confident marketing it around the world. "We now have the fastest response time in the market with no discernible delay to the end user and therefore each bidder (in-house or online) is an equal participant," says White. "There's less than one-sixth of a second delay. In many cases it takes longer for a person to be recognized in a crowd at a live auction than it does to register an Internet bid."

At auctions where up to five vehicles per minute are sold, White says every millisecond counts. With this response time, the traditional high pace of a live auction is not affected. Buyers can sit in the comfort of their own offices but still enjoy the excitement of attending a live auction.

The result of the company's hard work and fortitude is a global customer base that is growing by leaps and bounds. So far LGB has captured 72 per cent of the wholesale automobile auction market.

"We have the largest clients in the auto industry in the world and they have nothing but good things to say," says White. "They report that up to 50 per cent or more of their customers attend their auctions online and since they started using our system they're not only selling more, but also they're receiving much higher bids."

Live Global Bid[TM] now employs 25 people and has sales offices in the United States and Australia. Last year they averaged 70 to 75 auctions per month. They are now up to 300 a month, with sales growing at a phenomenal rate. "We're forecasting our business to continue to double on a yearly basis," says White. "There's huge growth potential."

While the automotive sector is the one that has embraced this new technology the quickest, Live Global Bid[TM] has sold its online live and interactive auction software to the cattle, thoroughbred horse, fur and collectible sectors.

"The antique market is as large as the automotive one is but it's a harder market to penetrate. We remain convinced, however, that if we just get one auction house to move online, that's all it will take."

When asked what else the future holds for his company. White is quick to smile and say that he definitely has no plans to retire anytime soon. He says we should keep our ears and eyes tuned to announcements Live Global Bid[TM] has planned for this summer that will put his company on an even bigger playing field.