OPENLANE, the online vehicle auction website, has launched game-changing features to guide customers towards immediate auction success, making vehicle auctions more exciting than ever before.

OPENLANE is not just a frontrunner in the online vehicle auction industry. They are innovators. Renowned for their innovative approaches and excellent customer service, the Belgian headquartered company has been updating their platform to ensure they offer their customers -registered car dealers throughout Europe and beyond- the ultimate auction experience. As such, OPENLANE has debuted new features: a seller score that offers buyers maximum transparency and a price barometer that takes part of the uncertainty out of auctions – while guiding buyers towards auction success. ‘We saw the opportunity to incorporate new elements and simplify the presentation,’ explains CCO Gino Vleminckx. ‘At the same time, we saw how a few innovations would make bidding a more interesting and exciting experience for our customers. And that is exactly what we want to deliver.’

Everyone benefits with seller scores

The most prominent new feature is the seller score. According to Vleminckx, OPENLANE has taken an original approach. ‘Instead of allowing buyers to rate sellers, we use fair and neutral measurements of criteria that are tuned to the needs of our users. By offering this transparency, buyers will naturally move towards high-performing sellers. If a seller wants to raise their score, they need to provide more accurate vehicle descriptions, accept the highest bid from an auction more quickly or release a vehicle sooner after a payment has been received. By doing so, they serve our buyers better. And happy buyers are more likely to bid and buy from customer-friendly sellers. Everyone benefits.’

Gauging prices with a price barometer

OPENLANE also wants to offer buyers further information about the quality of the bids they are making. As not all cars on the auction website have fixed prices, buyers are often unsure of whether a bid they have placed has a reasonable chance of success. OPENLANE has responded to this with the new price barometer feature, carefully designed to assist buyers without contravening the confidential nature of the auction process. ‘With the price barometer, a bid that is considered low will be red, moving into a yellow zone around the estimated selling price and then turning green as it is becomes increasingly likely to win the auction and be accepted by a seller. Buyers who are in the red or yellow zones now know they need to increase their bids to win; as they see bids increasing, sellers will feel happier and more likely to accept the final bid. This helps to remove one of the biggest doubts buyers are facing, while silently pushing them to meet seller expectations and become more competitive.’

Consumer market price

The introduction of a consumer market price was almost a necessity for OPENLANE. The platform sells exclusively to car dealers who then sell the vehicles themselves. But as these car dealers are based all around Europe and beyond, they need to know reasonable prices for vehicles in their local markets: the consumer market price. Vleminckx believes this feature perfectly complements the price barometer. ‘With the consumer market price, buyers know what a vehicle is worth. The price barometer shows them, in the simplest terms possible, where their bids stand. Buyers immediately know whether it is worthwhile placing a higher bid on a vehicle, or whether doing so will eat up their profits. The more information our buyers have, the more successfully they bid on vehicles that will give them optimal returns.’

The customer is king

These new changes are demonstrative of the commitment OPENLANE shows to its customers. The website and customer service hotlines are all available in an incredible array of languages. Vleminckx considers this to be a necessary part of the business. ‘Auctions, especially online auctions, are an exciting and thrilling business. We want our clients to experience that feeling without having to worry about translating what they see. We don’t want them to be saddled with any hassles. If they have questions, we want them to have answers that genuinely help. Everything we do is designed to make the car auction experience more exciting, more enjoyable and most of all, more profitable for our buyers.’

About OPENLANE

OPENLANE started trading in 2004 and has grown into one of the largest online car auction platforms for the car trade in Belgium. OPENLANE has 6 branches and more than 170 employees. The company has an up-to-date selection of used vehicles available for the best market prices. In 2018, the company will sell more than 68,000 end-of-lease vehicles from fleet-owners and car dealers in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, France and Spain. These were bought by car dealers throughout Europe, particularly in Central Europe. OPENLANE is distinguished by its high level of expertise in the cross-border sale of vehicles, and its unique business model. The company acts as an intermediary between buyers and sellers in a uniform manner, and ensures smooth payment, delivery and service for both buyers and sellers.