© Auktion & Markt AG 2003-2021. All rights reserved.
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Back then, Karl Rolf Muth organized
the first car auction for dealers and
customers in Wiesbaden, and later
in Mainz. After the first successfully
auctioned off vehicles, from then on
auctions took place once a week,
on Mondays. Until then, the publicly
appointed and duly sworn auctioneer
had only auctioned off art & antiquities,
in the classic manner. Auctioning off cars
was completely uncharted territory in Germany at this time.
That’s why the beginnings – as is so often the case in success stories – turned out
to be so much more difficult than expected. “At first, they all laughed at me, because
this method of marketing was completely unknown in Germany. But I had seen such
car auctions in the USA and England,” explains our pioneer of the car auction world.
"But then people realized that something brilliant had been set in motion here."
“At first, they all laughed at me, back then, because this method of marketing was completely unknown in Germany.”
On Sundays the cars were parked in a former
car dealership in Wiesbaden for viewing, and
on Monday evening the auction was held.
“Somewhere along the way the viewing on
Sunday developed a sort of public festival at-
mosphere,” says the CEO of Auktion & Markt AG,
today. “Hundreds of people came, had a look at
the used cars, and enjoyed a morsel from the
barbecue, even though there were only roughly
a 100 cars on offer.” And then, on auction day
itself, the auctioneer went from car to car, with
a crowd of people in tow, auctioning off the
vehicles. At this time, the company was com-
prised of two people, and grew into an effective
team over the years.
In 2001, a decision was made to concentrate business exclusively on the automobile
trade. With new employees, the business of mobile auctions crystallized under the
motto “The auction house comes to you”, and hundreds of auctions were held across
Germany, on location at dealers.
Already two years later the www.autobid.de Internet auction platform was launched,
through which the company became one of the pioneers of the time in the online
sector. Because, who would have thought that car dealers would pay several thou-
sand euros for vehicles, without having first seen them in person?
Nowadays almost all the vehicles are auctioned online. The many years we were physically present on the market was certainly an important factor that played a role in today’s success in online business. Dealers throughout Europe trust us, because they know we have a history of healthy growth, and we understand our business, but we are still a very down-to-earth company.
The strong demand for professional auctions for the trade and also the close
cooperation with outlets and manufacturers brought about rapid growth, which
was clearly demonstrated in the founding of separate centres and in the rising
number of employees. Today, Auktion & Markt AG has more than 300 employees,
mainly in Germany.
"We will also continue to place great emphasis on one thing in the future –
collaboration based on mutual trust with our partners, either as a buyer, supplier
or service-provider. We would like to you thank you very much for this and we
look forward to a joint, successful future in one of the most exciting markets in
the world – the automobile trade!", stated the company's founder Karl Rolf Muth.