Auctionata

Auctionata is an online auction and retailers of art, antiques and collectibles based in Berlin.

Auctionata operates by his own admission, an expert network of more than 200 experts from more than 40 countries, which evaluates works of art.

History

Auctionata was founded in 2012 by Alexander wave and Georg Untersalmberger in Berlin with investors' capital of the publishing group Georg von Holtzbrinck ( including one of the Handelsblatt ) and the Otto Group.

In September 2012, went to the online store of Auctionata online. In December, the first auction was held, which was broadcast via live stream on the Internet, and in which a total turnover of 345,000 euros. In March 2013, the Company announced the completion of a further financing round of 20.2 million U.S. dollars. New investor, the venture capital firm Earlybird.

On May 22, 2013 Auctionata announced to have signed with Chrono24, the world's largest specialist marketplace for luxury watches, a cooperation agreement on 52 watches auctions. In June 2013, the Company announced to have achieved a turnover of more than 6 million euros in the first nine months of business. In August 2013, the Company announced to have entered into an extensive partnership with the private bank founded in 1926 in Berlin, Dr. Masel. Purpose of the cooperation is to enable customers of the auction house a quick refinance their admissions. On 1 October 2013, the Company announced to cooperate with the largest American online marketplace for antiques and collectibles, Rubylane. For the December 6, 2013 a first common Internet live auction is planned.

Technology of live auctions

Auctionata auctioned exclusively online and live by his own admission, during the auctions, however, are always bidders present. For the commandments, which are delivered online, the founders of Auctionata, Alexander wave and Georg Untersalmberger, a private auction format developed and patent pending. The items to be auctioned are filmed during the auction in a studio situation, which was necessary for the study of auctions catalog as well as the time and cost intensive Check to be invalid for viewing and auctioning of the objects. The technology is still unproven as and error prone.

Contrary to popular eBay auction Auctionata auction performs within the meaning of § 156 BGB, which are registered with the Department clerk's office and headed by an auctioneer. This does not constitute a distance contract. According to founder Alexander spike the technology of live auctions was primarily designed to compete with the multinational auction houses Christie 's and Sotheby's. The theme music for the weekly broadcast of live auctions comes from the Berlin composer Enis Rotthoff.

Objects in the media reporting

2012 discovered the experts of Auctionata a watercolor by Egon Schiele in 1916, in a private estate, and valued it at one million euros. According to Handelsblatt, these were a sensation for the art market. According to testimony of the owner of the image that would have remained undetected and almost " landed in the waste paper ". On June 21, 2013, the painting " Reclining Woman " online was auctioned and sold for € 1,830.000 ( 2,400.000 USD).

An oil painting by Carl Moll online was auctioned Also on June 21, 2013, sold for 297,000 euros ( $ 395,000 ). It was this to be the world's highest ever achieved for an image of this painter auction surcharge.

On 7 June 2013, Patek Philippe Reference 2499 was wristwatch with chronometer, moon phase and perpetual calendar from 1953 auctioned online and slammed to a record price of 470,000 euros ( $ 611,000 ).

In October 2013 it was announced that Vincent van Gogh's reed pen and pencil drawing " The plain of La Crau ", created in May 1888 was estimated at Auctionata in Berlin to 360,000 euros and would be auctioned on 29 November 2013. The image came from the estate of Hollywood producer and Academy Award winner Harold Hecht. At the " authenticity of the picture" was according to FAZ no doubt. This is the first original by Vincent van Gogh ever, which was auctioned in Germany.

Criticism

On December 7, 2012, the Oskar Kokoschka painting attributed was "Rose II" at auction, the authenticity of which was doubted by the Fondation Oskar Kokoschka.

" With a possible friendship expertise of the artist, the painting was loud catalog of works in December 1960 initially in an auction at Lempertz in Cologne, for which it was prominently displayed in color on the catalog cover. About the Knoedler Galleries, it came after the New York-based collector Louis Lion, it was auctioned at Sotheby's in London in 1964, and 1966 on the Auslander Gallery back to Lempertz. There auctioned Bremer tobacco entrepreneur Wolfgang Ritter for 80,000 marks. "

The painting finally achieved in Auctionata only 7,500 euros, as the auction house of post and unabridged published the negative opinion of the Fondation Oskar Kokoschka despite the existing expertise of Oskar Kokoschka.

Use of another's trademark name for its own advertising in search engines

Auctionata is committed to an aggressive presence on the Internet and buys a well for certain keywords on the first page of popular search engines. As a key function, the names traditional auction houses such as Lempertz, Van Ham, Villa Grisebach, Dorotheum, Im Kinsky, Bonhams, Christie's, Sotheby's, etc.

Awards

The website auctionata.de 2012 was honored at the Digital Life Design conference with the Digital Star Award.