Going, going gone are the glory days of old-fashioned, in-person auctions, left largely now to the nostalgic at heart. These days the Internet, and more notably auction sites Liquidity Services, Inc. (Nasdaq:LQDT) and Overstock.com (Nasdaq:OSTK), have emerged as critical business tools for professional buyers of wholesale, surplus and salvage assets.

It’s estimated that the online auction market will exceed $63.1 billion this year, from $38.5 billion in 2004 — perfect timing for Liquidity Services to cash in on the growth.
The company is an operator of online auctions where professional buyers can bid on wholesale, surplus and salvage assets. Approximately 500 product categories are listed on the company’s automated online marketplace, including consumer electronics, general merchandise, apparel, scientific equipment, aerospace parts and equipment, technology hardware and specialty equipment.

The company also owns the Liquidation.com auction site (where government agencies sell wholesale, surplus and salvage assets), the Govliquidation.com site (where federal government surplus and scrap assets are sold), and the Liqidbiz.com site (where European companies sell goods to international buyers). In addition, Liquidity Services operates a wholesale portal, Govwholesale.com, connecting advertisers with buyers seeking products for resale.

Liquidity Services’ online auction sites are supported by its marketing, merchandising, fulfillment, payment, collection, dispute mediation and logistics management services. The company also helps sellers prepare sales information, warehouse merchandise and settle and report transactions.

At year-end 2007, Liquidity Services had 724,000 registered buyers, up from 565,000 registered buyers one year earlier. The number of auction participants rose to a record 323,000 in December versus 247,000 participants one year ago, and the number of completed transactions rose to a record 63,000 from 49,000 a year earlier.

---You can read the FULL article when you register (registration is free!) or sign-in to SmallCapInvestor.com---