Goldin Auctions.Are they down

[dio]

I think every time is like this. These ppl need to spend a little mobey to fix this. Come on

[BRoberts]

What does Bob Freedman know?

[Tabe]

Originally Posted by dio

I think every time is like this. These ppl need to spend a little mobey to fix this. Come on

Seriously, Kenny, take some of those millions in commissions and get a better platform. Good grief.

[chadeast]

Sounds like this will be their last auction with their current software platform, per latest email. As big as they are, this is really their only option moving forward.

[Goldin Auctions]

This was sent to all bidders

Dear Goldin Auctions Users
The extended bidding period will begin at 11:15pm eastern. Extended bidding rules apply.
If there are further interruptions we will act accordingly.
We have been developing an in house technology platform and this is the last auction that we will be running on third party software. Authenticity and trust is the foundation on which Goldin is built and tonight we let all of you down.

We apologize for this inconvenience and know that we will be working around the clock until we have our own platform live. We have to do better and we will.
https://goldinauctions.com/catalog.aspx

[Fred]

What are the reasons that auction houses use a third party auction platform?

Is one of the reasons to allow bidders to feel safe that an auction house has limited opportunity to manipulate the outcome of an auction?

[chadeast]

Originally Posted by Fred

What are the reasons that auction houses use a third party auction platform?

Is one of the reasons to allow bidders to feel safe that an auction house has limited opportunity to manipulate the outcome of an auction?

Cost, plain and simple. Developing and maintaining a custom auction platform is a very expensive proposition. Only the biggest auction houses would be able to consider that kind of expenditure.

[Republicaninmass]

Ken should go back to the home shopping channel. Then people will still have time to get these amazing deals and they wont have any interruptions.

[mrreality68]

Originally Posted by chadeast

Sounds like this will be their last auction with their current software platform, per latest email. As big as they are, this is really their only option moving forward.

This should be a really good thing. Their own platform and their own IT team means greater control and faster response time
Looking forward to it

[obiwan1129]

Don't be too sure about that. In theory, the 3rd party folks are *supposed* to be well versed in this. The reason someone goes 3rd party is to not re-invent the wheel and benefit from their knowledge. I wouldn't expect baseball card experts to be software developers. I mean they may, but it's not what I would expect.

Taking it in house and rolling your own can be advantageous but it will be version 1.0 for them when they get started. There's an old saying, "Version 1.0 means never having to say you're sorry." Expect some more bumps in the road.

I know we all want folks to succeed, just acknowledge that getting software right is hard.

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by obiwan1129

Don't be too sure about that. In theory, the 3rd party folks are *supposed* to be well versed in this. The reason someone goes 3rd party is to not re-invent the wheel and benefit from their knowledge. I wouldn't expect baseball card experts to be software developers. I mean they may, but it's not what I would expect.

Taking it in house and rolling your own can be advantageous but it will be version 1.0 for them when they get started. There's an old saying, "Version 1.0 means never having to say you're sorry." Expect some more bumps in the road.

I know we all want folks to succeed, just acknowledge that getting software right is hard.

True, but that assumes they are going to design and build their own auction software from the ground up. I'll bet there are auction software packages, already written and tested, that they could purchase off the shelf, customize it, and put it on their own (robust) server platform.

It seems to me that most of the problems from last year and this year are mostly:

1. Hosting site was hacked and code hijacked.
2. Server robustness inadequate to handle huge volumes of activity as auctions neared closing.

Start with a new, clean instance of complete, high-quality auction software, customize to an AH's needs, import legacy data, integrate with outside platforms (for instance, 3rd party paying like PayPal,) test it like crazy by having a mock auction (invite net54 members plus existing AH customers to participate in a fake, fantasy auction to stress test the system,) and you should have a good chance of success going forward.

And above all, make security and redundancy (backup servers, etc.) a central part of operations.

With the infusion of cash Goldin recently negotiated, they can easily and cost effectively get where they want to be.