Quick Add Auction form

eRealInvestor Integration

AuctionServices.com is proud to announce a new partnership with eRealInvestor! These new tools allow in-depth analysis of real estate directly from the auction listing and are free as our gift to you from now until late January. For more information about this exciting new feature, please click here.

New Chat Support System

The AuctionServices.com Team always stands ready to help and support any auctioneers who should ever require our assistance. To better facilitate that support, we introduced our new chat support system into the Ignite system. This improved support system is more stable and robust than the previous version, but also offers advanced functions to better enable us to assist with problems or questions of any sort. Just click on the button pictured below next time you’re in Ignite and our team will be happy to assist you.

Live Chat Support

Organizational Calendar Control

AuctionZip Hub Limited Beta

Improved Assets for Sale Ordering

CAPTCHA

Merry Christmas!

eRealAnalyzer Tool will integrate directly in Ignite listings, allowing buyers to evaluate a home or commercial property before bidding or buying.

“We are pleased to partner with eRealInvestor to offer this integrated property analysis solution to companies using the Ignite Suite to list real estate auctions and properties for sale on their websites ,” said Romanus. “eRealInvestor has developed a powerful solution to simplify property analysis, and we are confident their solution will generate more revenue for auctioneers and real estate professionals alike.”

Roanoke, VA – AuctionServices.com, Inc., (www.auctionservices.com) announces a partnership with eRealInvestor to bring an integrated property analysis tool to Ignite Suite, according to Richard Romanus, President and CEO.

“We are pleased to partner with eRealInvestor to offer this integrated property analysis solution to companies using the Ignite Suite to list real estate auctions and properties for sale on their websites ,” said Romanus. “eRealInvestor has developed a powerful solution to simplify property analysis, and we are confident their solution will generate more revenue for auctioneers and real estate professionals alike.”

The net result is more bidders participating, making higher bids because they realize instantly how much cash flow a property can generate and ultimately paying more for the property.

The eRealAnalyzer provides web-based access to all the financial modeling and graphs needed to make investment decisions without having to buy or install software or manage spreadsheets. This solution generates more revenue by driving more bidders per auction, more bids per auction and higher final selling prices.

Mike Genstil, founder of eRealInvestor, said that eRealInvestor is already working with several companies in the property auction category, such as Williams Auction, as well as powering thousands of real estate sites. He noted, “On certain sites more than half of buyers are using eRealAnalyzer to evaluate a home or commercial property before purchasing. Winning bidders are using eRealAnalyzer several times before winning the auction.”

He added, “eRealAnalyzer makes property evaluation simple and instantaneous. Buyers and investors are drawn into the listing and can experiment with different scenarios. The net result is more bidders participating, making higher bids because they realize instantly how much cash flow a property can generate and ultimately paying more for the property. It’s a win-win-win for buyers, sellers and auctioneers / real estate brokers and we are excited to bring that opportunity to the Ignite users.”

“The eRealAnalyzer tool integrates directly with the auction or real estate for sale listing in Ignite Suite,” explained Romanus. “We plan to launch the integration by Christmas and offer a 30-day free trial for companies to try the tool on their listings.”

For more information about eRealInvestor and to view a demo of the eRealAnalyzer tool, visit www.erealinvestor.com/ignite. For information about Ignite Suite call (540) 206-3311.

eRealInvestor, Inc., has developed eRealAnalyzer(TM), the real estate industry’s first one-click away financial analysis application. eRealAnalyzer(TM) powers the online analysis of thousands of properties listed on real estate portals and real estate agent websites. The website lists over one million resale, for sale by owner, and foreclosure properties, all easily searchable by cash flow and other key financial criteria. The company was founded in 2007 by executives with decades of real estate investment and software development expertise to simplify the process of identifying and analyzing the best real estate deals. Visit: www.erealinvestor.com.

Founded in 1994, AuctionServices.com provides cutting-edge professional web design, secure, reliable web hosting, marketing and the Ignite Suite of tools and services, a web-based enterprise resource management system that enables companies to proactively manage their organizational memberships, employee access, marketing, web content and syndication.

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Media Contacts:
Mike Genstil
Founder and CEO
eRealInvestor
(415) 205-3686
mgenstil@erealinvestor.com

Richard Romanus
President and CEO
AuctionServices.com, Inc.
(540) 446-5541
rick@auctionservices.com

Source: AuctionServices.com, Inc.

1. Faster image gallery uploads

2. Grid-style gallery organizer

3. Property Information Package Tracker module improvements

4. Removal of Scribd iPaper

Faster image gallery uploads

We received feedback from auctioneers who explained that the image gallery uploads were taking too long. The process was originally set up as follows:

• Upload image 1
• Create thumbnails for image 1
• Store image 1 and its thumbnails
• Upload image 2
• Create thumbnails for image 2
• Store image 2 and its thumbnails
• etc.

Compared with the old AuctionServices.com auction calendar (which only created one thumbnail for each image), this process of resizing and creating multiple thumbnails for each image was more time consuming, especially for large galleries. The workaround was previously to let the upload continue in one browser window (or tab) and continue working in another. While this workaround does still apply, we changed the process to expedite image uploads as follows

• Upload image 1
• Upload image 2 AND start creating the image 1 thumbnails in the background
• Upload image 3 AND continue creating image thumbnails for images 1 and 2
• etc.

This should provide a much quicker upload process for the auctioneer as all images are now thumbnailed and resized in the background.

Grid-style gallery organizer

The existing ability to re-arrange (or re-order) image galleries via drag-and-drop actions on the edit screen still exists; however, there is now an additional choice for “Order Images Only”. This new choice shows the entire image gallery in a thumbnail grid instead of a vertically stacked list. It does not allow image deletion or caption editing; but based on feedback from auctioneers, this style of re-arranging the order of images in galleries will allow for much faster re-sorting of images. This especially applies for batches of images that are uploaded as additions to existing galleries.

Property Information Package Tracker module improvements

The Property Information Package tracking system used by our auctioneers also received some great feedback! In addition to its existing funcationality, it  now includes additional capabilities. Using the new features, you can elect to turn on an approval system for document viewing. This will allow auctioneers to pre-approve who is able to view the documents prior to allowing them access to the documents.

Removal of Scribd iPaper

Due to a policy enforcement change at Scribd, we are discontinuing the inclusion of Scribd’s digital paper service with Ignite.

1. Uploaded documents will continue to be available to your sites’ visitors in the original format they were uploaded in. For example, if you upload a Microsoft Word document, the original Word document will be downloaded.
2. We do encourage all customers to use platform- and software-neutral file formats, such as PDF, for document uploads.
3. We understand that some auctioneers liked the digital paper preview, so we are actively evaluating alternative digital paper solutions as replacements.

More information will be forthcoming as we research various other options as a replacement

Best regards,

– The AuctionServices.com Team

P.S. As a token of our appreciation for taking the time to review this update, please accept our offer of 50% off of your next NAL Newsletter Ad. Click here to place your order and use the following coupon code at checkout: HALFNAL (offer expires 11/3/2009. Limit of ten discounted ads total and one discounted ad per customer). Please bookmark this site to stay current on Ignite updates and other information.

For select sites with limited horizontal width, there may be slight anomalies in the display on select browsers. Please use the Ignite support ticket system (Ignite login required) to report these incidents on your site as needed.

Grid display on an AuctionServices.com Auction Detail Page

This change was brought about by feedback from auctioneers, so please keep the feedback coming (whether it be positive or negative) and know that we are listening!

As a footnote from the time we started IBEAM system which was many many years ago our pricing has always been way below every other competitive system out there. This pricing change is not an increase in profit for us but a reinvestment to make the system even better for you!

Over the years lists, sends, requirements and support for an effective email management systems has grown tremendously. Better detailed reporting, faster sends, scheduling, templates, auto replies, bandwidth, better more powerful servers etc. etc. etc. IBEAM has been a real value and I promise it will continue to be.

Please bear with us as we work out some details on our end a little more. Nothing will change until you know well in advance and we hear your valuable feedback so please keep it coming. Thank you!

Two areas of concern are marked with red arrows:

Click here to view the IBEAM Pricing Comparison Graph

UPDATE: As of approximately 12:52PM EDT, the Scribd API service is restored.

The new software was so popular, that after a few months we started to notice some issues. Customers were reporting slow sending and delays. After a thorough investigation, we determined the source of the problem. The number of lists and subscribers in the system, coupled with the volume of emails being sent was overwhelming the email queue at peak times. This acted like a logjam.

As we looked further, we found that a third of iBEAM users have small lists under 500 total subscribers. Another third have lists totaling fewer than 10,000 subscribers. The top third are the heaviest users with total subscribers over 10,000 and some over 100,000.

In order to provide the best service for users at all levels, we decided to move users with larger lists to dedicated servers. Because server space and bandwidth come at a premium, I have made the tough decision to create tiered pricing for iBEAM based on usage. Click here to review the new pricing tiers.  We researched the market and feel this new pricing is comparable to, and in some cases better than pricing offered by competitors. We urge you to research this for yourself.

New pricing will go into effect November 1, 2009, based on total subscribers in your list(s) at that time. To determine the package level for your IBEAM account, simply log in at http://ibeam.auctionservices.com/ and look at the “Total active subscribers” number under the Quick Stats section of your main administration dashboard. If you have questions or concerns, please give us a call (540) 206-3311.

Best regards,

Richard Romanus
President & CEO,
AuctionServices.com, Inc.

Last night we rolled out the new optimization for Ignite. I could not believe how fast auction lists now come up!!! We have been working on this optimization since before the NAA Conference & Show in July. However, it could only be rolled out after we changed templates and a few other items, which we accomplished over the weekend.

If you’re using Ignite you will be extremely pleased with the speed that your auctions and as a result your website loads up now. Bench-marked calendar loading averaged less than 3 seconds.

If you’re not using Ignite you can look at any of our state sites and or portals to see the speed.

http://auctionservices.com/auction-portals.php

Google Partnership:

On a different note we have not formally announced this yet but we have partnered with Google for email management via their Apps. We have moved two auctioneers so far in a beta mode. They are extremely pleased and we are as well…

The short of it all is that Zimbra, our current email client, and three servers are not doing it for us and the 2,800+ email accounts that we manage. Google has all the horsepower plus many great features included. All email that our auctioneers currently have in the Zimbra system will be ported over for them after we have setup their email accounts. They email addresses will still be youremailaccount@yourdomain.

This is a huge advantage for our clients and will streamline email plus scan junk mail much better as well since we have the power of the Google backbone…

We will do this transition in batches not to have anything fall through the cracks. Please stay tuned for more information…

Respectfully,
Richard A. Romanus Sr.
President & CEO
AuctionServices.com, Inc.
Roanoke, VA 24018
Office: 540-206-3311

New Feature!

Last night, while you were sleeping, the Ignite elves were busy rolling out a new feature for your Ignite dashboard. We are very pleased to announce the integration of printing and mailing services to the Ignite Suite.

Customized print marketing materials in your hands overnight!

Our first preferred provider, XpressDocs, has worked with us to integrate their services into the Ignite platform, making it easy for you to list your auction in Ignite, and then use those same images and text to create agency-quality direct marketing materials in minutes! You can design postcards in several sizes, rack cards, flyers, brochures and more, using professional templates, or upload your own designs. Orders placed by 4pm central time are printed and shipped the same day.

XpressDocs also offers all-in-one flexible direct mail options, including: demographic business and consumer lists, street lists, mail to your own lists, free CASS list and more.

Easy, Fast & Affordable!

Click here to download a flyer with pricing examples.

? Unparalleled print quality and design
? Dozens of auction and real estate templates
? Upload your own files
? Overnight turnaround time
? Demographic lists

Come by the AuctionServices.com booth at the NAA convention in Overland Park, KS, next week where we’ll be happy to answer your questions about XpressDocs printing and mailing services. If your company has a service you would like to talk to us about integrating with Ignite, drop an email to HIDDEN EMAIL.