Auctionata

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Auctionata Paddle8 AG

logo
legal form AG
founding 2012
resolution 2017
Reason for dissolution insolvency
Seat Berlin , GermanyGermanyGermany 
management Thomas Hesse, Lucas Hülsmann, Jan Thiel, Johannes Riedl, Osman Khan, Patrick van der Vorst, Aditya Julka and Alexander Gilkes
Number of employees over 300 (2014)
sales 132 million euros (2015)
Branch Internet auction
Website auctionata.com/de

Auctionata is An in-bankruptcy Listen live - auction house and mail order company for luxury items, art , antiques and collectibles, based in Berlin and New York . According to its own statements, the company operated an expert network of more than 300 experts from over 40 countries who rated auction objects from more than 100 categories. The company is shut down.

history

Auctionata was founded in 2012 by Alexander Zacke and Georg Untersalmberger with investor capital from the Georg von Holtzbrinck publishing group and the Otto Group in Berlin.

Auctionata's online shop went online in September 2012. In December 2012, the first auction took place, which was broadcast live on the Internet and generated a total turnover of 345,000 euros. In March 2013, the company announced the completion of another $ 20.2 million financing round. The new investor was the venture capital company Earlybird. Since May 2013, weekly livestream auctions have been held on Auctionata in the categories of vintage cars , watches , wine , jewelry , design , art and antiques .

From May to October 2013, the company entered into a series of collaborations with various online marketplaces for luxury products and a bank. At the beginning of December 2013, the first auction was held in the USA in cooperation with an American company.

In March 2015, Auctionata received 42 million euros in a further financing round (Series C). This round was led by the listed financial investor MCI Management from Warsaw . Other investors were Hearst Corporation and Bernard Arnault .

In July 2015, the company announced that it had achieved sales of 35.7 million euros in the first half of 2015, a 195 percent increase compared to the result for the same period of the previous year. According to the company, 123 auctions were held in the same period, in which over 30,000 bidders from more than 140 countries participated. According to its own statements, Auctionata was Germany's largest auction house in terms of turnover and number of employees in July 2015.

In May 2016, Auctionata and Paddle8, a US competitor of the company, merged. The resulting company was one of the ten largest auction houses in the world outside of China and the fastest growing company in the industry. Even before the merger, the two companies were listed fifth and ninth in the Hiscox report. The total number of users rose to 800,000 as a result of the merger. In December 2016, Auctionata AG renamed Auctionata Paddle8 AG .

On January 16, 2017, a preliminary insolvency administration was ordered over the company's assets and a general prohibition of disposal was imposed on it.

The reasons given for the company's failure were that Auctionata only focused on growth and mass. Due to the intentionally high number of auctions per year, objects in the lower price segment had to be offered, since only a small number of high-quality art objects came onto the market each year. In addition, the art industry is one of the most conservative branches, a name that has been renowned for many years generates the trust of customers, not the sheer number of objects viewed annually or an increased media presence. The massive organization of auctions on the assembly line has robbed the auctions of their special character.

At the beginning of March 2017 it was announced that Auctionata would cease operations as no investor could be found to continue. Historia Auctions (Christian Gründel & Vincent ten Vergert GbR) took over the web and naming rights from Auctionata.

Live auctions

According to its own statements, Auctionata only auctioned live and online, but hall bidders were always present during the auctions. The founders of Auctionata, Alexander Zacke and Georg Untersalmberger, have developed their own auction format and have applied for a patent for bids that are submitted online . The auction objects are filmed in a studio situation during the auction, which means that the study of the catalog, which was previously necessary for auctions, and the journey to view and auction the objects should become superfluous. However, the technology was still considered untested and error-prone.

In contrast to the widespread eBay auction, Auctionata carried out auctions within the meaning of Section 156 of the German Civil Code (BGB) , which were registered with the responsible regulatory office and managed by an auctioneer. As a result, no distance contract was concluded. According to founder Alexander Zacke, the technology of the live auctions was developed primarily to compete with the multinational auction houses Christie's and Sotheby's .

The title music for the weekly broadcast of the live auctions came from the Berlin composer Enis Rotthoff .

Auctioned objects

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

In 2012, a watercolor by Egon Schiele from 1916 was discovered in a private estate and valued at one million euros. According to Handelsblatt, it was a sensation for the art market. According to the owner of the picture, it almost went undetected and ended up in the waste paper . On June 21, 2013, the picture Reclining Woman was auctioned online for 1.83 million euros.

Also on June 21, 2013, an oil painting by Carl Moll was auctioned online for 297,000 euros. It was the highest auction hammer price ever achieved for a picture by this painter in the world.

In October 2013 it became known that Vincent van Gogh's reed pen and pencil drawing The Plain of La Crau , created in May 1888, was valued at 360,000 euros at Auctionata in Berlin and was to be auctioned on November 29, 2013. The picture came from the possession of Hollywood producer and Oscar winner Harold Hecht . According to the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, there was no doubt about the authenticity of the picture . This is the first original by Vincent van Gogh that was offered in Germany; the hammer price was 320,000 euros.

On June 20, 2015, an imperial Chinese automatic watch from the late 18th century was auctioned online for a record price of 3.37 million euros. The buyer was Chinese billionaire Liu Yiqian .

criticism

Possibly fake painting

On December 7, 2012, the painting Rosen II , attributed to Oskar Kokoschka , was auctioned, which the Fondation Oskar Kokoschka identified as a forgery. Auctionata published the negative opinion before the auction, but criticized the fact that the assessment was only made on the basis of photographs and that "material scientific investigations [...] were not carried out". However, Auctionata could not refer to such an examination to prove the authenticity. In addition, the auction house did not refer to the well-known correspondence between Kokoschka and the art collector Willy Hahn, in which Kokoscha writes about Rosen II : “I'm sorry for the fake too”. The painting fetched 7,500 euros at Auctionata.

Use of third-party brand names for your own advertising in search engines

Auctionata tried to have an aggressive presence on the Internet and also bought its way onto the first page of well-known search engines for certain keywords. The names of traditional auction houses such as Lempertz, Van Ham, Villa Grisebach, Dorotheum, Im Kinsky , Bonhams, Christie's, Sotheby's etc. also served as keywords . Auctionata was also sued in this regard, each "case of infringement" is subject to a "fine of up to to 250,000 euros ".

Commandments by the board

In April 2016, a report by the auditor KPMG from 2013 and 2014 became known, according to which Auctionata or Alexander and Susanne Zacke had bid in their own auctions, although this is expressly prohibited according to the German trade regulations. Furthermore, in 2013 and 2014, the founders delivered objects worth more than 500,000 euros and had substantial advances paid out for them. Auctionata responded to the allegations with a press release, the test report was commissioned by Auctionata itself, it only concerns the early phase of a startup and the issues identified have already been dealt with.

Awards

The website auctionata.de received the Digital Star Award at the Digital Life Design conference in 2012 .

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ According to media reports, around 130 employees were laid off in the first half of 2015. See:
    Stefan Kobel: Drastic measures at Auctionata . In: Handelsblatt , April 23, 2015, accessed on September 12, 2015;
    Olga Kronsteiner: Groupe Arnault joins Auctionata . In: derstandard.at , May 13, 2015, accessed on September 12, 2015.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ A tale of two auction houses. Forbes, May 12, 2016, accessed August 2, 2016 .
  2. ^ Auctionata boss Hesse. "I can contribute to more professional management". Wirtschaftswoche, September 1, 2016, accessed on January 10, 2017 .
  3. ↑ a b Auctionata increases sales in 2014 by 163 percent to EUR 31.5 million / Berlin-based online auction house has a successful start in New York . ( Memento of the original from July 23, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Auctionata AG press release, presseportal.de, February 18, 2015. Accessed on September 12, 2015. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.presseportal.de
  4. ↑ Auctionata and Paddle8 in the overview of key figures. Exciting Commerce, June 29, 2016, accessed August 2, 2016 .
  5. ↑ Auctionata closes. ( Memento of the original from April 21, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Company press release, accessed March 5, 2017. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / auctionata.com
  6. ↑ Auctionata closes. ( Memento of the original from April 21, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Company press release, accessed March 5, 2017. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / auctionata.com
  7. ↑ Auctionata relies on live auctions with Holtzbrinck and Otto. Exciting Commerce, June 8, 2012, accessed February 17, 2013 .
  8. ↑ Auctionata is already bringing its shop online. Exciting Commerce, August 20, 2012, accessed February 17, 2013 .
  9. ↑ Auctionata is happy about 345,000 euros at the live premiere. (No longer available online.) Exciting Commerce, December 8, 2012, archived from the original on February 11, 2013 ; Retrieved February 17, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.excitingcommerce.de
  10. ^ Art Site Auctionata Nabs $ 20.2 million in venture capital. Blouin Artinfo, April 4, 2013, accessed February 17, 2013 .
  11. ↑ 15.5 million euros for the online art house Auctionata. In: Berliner Morgenpost. April 2, 2013, accessed April 2, 2013 .
  12. ↑ Chrono24 and Auctionata enter into an alliance. In: Focus. May 22, 2013. Retrieved May 22, 2013 .
  13. ↑ Marcus Pfeil: Online exchange Auctionata: Between Ebay and Sotheby's. In: Wall Street Journal . June 21, 2013, accessed September 12, 2015 .
  14. ↑ Cooperation with Bankhaus Dr. Masel enables consignors to pre-finance. In: ots.at. Retrieved August 25, 2013 .
  15. ↑ Rubylane press information ( Memento of the original from January 21, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / auctionata.de
  16. ↑ Auctionata collects a further 42 million euros . Retrieved May 14, 2015. 
  17. ↑ Olga Kronsteiner: Groupe Arnault joins Auctionata. In: DerStandard. May 13, 2015, accessed July 23, 2015 .
  18. ↑ Love Stevenson: Auctionata is the largest German auction house . In: Artcollector , July 24, 2015, accessed September 11, 2015.
  19. ↑ Alexander Hüsing: Auctionata and Paddle8 fight together against Christies. In: German Startups. May 12, 2015, accessed August 2, 2016 .
  20. ↑ Auctionata Paddle8. (No longer available online.) In: IEG. May 31, 2016, archived from the original on August 2, 2016 ; accessed on August 2, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / ieg-banking.com
  21. ↑ 2 online art auctioneers to merge and go global. In: New York Times. May 12, 2016. Retrieved August 2, 2016 .
  22. ↑ Charlottenburg District Court (Berlin), file number HRB 155814 B, notification of change dated December 5, 2016, published on December 6, 2016, accessed in the company register on January 21, 2017.
  23. ↑ Customer information . ( Memento of the original from April 21, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Company press release, January 19, 2017, accessed January 21, 2017. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / auctionata.com
  24. ↑ Miachel Penke: What went wrong at Auctionata: https://www.gruenderszene.de/allgemein/auctionata-paddle8-insolvenz-thomas-hesse
  25. ↑ Auctionata is closing. Article in Wirtschaftswoche magazine, accessed on March 2, 2017
  26. ↑ Artinfo24: Auctionata bankruptcy - Web and naming rights go to auction house Historia. Retrieved May 21, 2017 .
  27. ↑ Computer system for the exchange of messages - WIPO Patent Application WO / 2012/159665. SumoBrain.com, November 29, 2012, accessed February 17, 2013 .
  28. ↑ judder images. Der Tagesspiegel, December 15, 2012, accessed on February 17, 2013 .
  29. ↑ Auctionata: No right of withdrawal or return in auctions. (No longer available online.) Trustedwatch.de, archived from the original on March 5, 2012 ; Retrieved February 17, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.trustedwatch.de
  30. ^ Auctionata: Disrupting The World's Great Auction Houses. Forbes.com, accessed April 16, 2013 .
  31. ↑ Patek Philippe Ref 2499 sells online for a record USD 621,000. (No longer available online.) In: Handelsblatt.de. Archived from the original on December 12, 2013 ; Retrieved June 11, 2013 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / thewatchlounge.com
  32. ↑ Schiele brings record price at online auction. In: Welt.de. Retrieved July 20, 2013 .
  33. ↑ Auctionata: Sensational Schiele Fund. In: Handelsblatt. March 10, 2013, accessed March 23, 2013 .
  34. ↑ Auction: Millions of images in waste paper. In: Berliner Zeitung. March 6, 2013, accessed March 23, 2013 .
  35. ↑ Systemic ignoring. In: derstandard.at. Retrieved July 20, 2013 .
  36. ↑ Browse the entry for Carl Moll. In: web.artprice.com. Retrieved July 20, 2013 .
  37. ↑ Van Gogh auction on the Internet. In: FAZ. October 22, 2013. Retrieved October 23, 2013 .
  38. ↑ Van Gogh returns to Berlin. In: Berliner Zeitung. October 22, 2013. Retrieved October 23, 2013 .
  39. ↑ Art for everyone - the eBay principle comes from Berlin. Retrieved July 16, 2017 .
  40. ^ Liu Yiqian set asian art online auction record. In: Blouin Art Info. June 25, 2015, accessed June 25, 2015 .
  41. ↑ Stefan Koldehoff : Kokoschka himself is said to have felt sorry for the forgery. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . December 15, 2012, accessed February 17, 2013 .
  42. ↑ Olga Kronsteiner: Calculated excitement. In: Handelsblatt. December 6, 2012, accessed February 17, 2013 .
  43. ↑ Auctionata: Deliberate search engine mess. November 19, 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2013 .
  44. ^ Auctionata condemned - derStandard.at. Retrieved September 16, 2019 (Austrian German).
  45. ↑ Auctionata: Out of Control. April 17, 2016, archived from the original on April 21, 2016 ; accessed on April 21, 2016 .
  46. ↑ For Auctionata, transparency has long been a top priority. (No longer available online.) April 6, 2016, archived from the original on April 21, 2016 ; accessed on April 21, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / auctionata.com
  47. ↑ Bring the art trade online. Focus Online, January 23, 2013, accessed February 16, 2013 .