History

Auctiva was founded in 1998 by Jeff Schlicht. An avid auction seller, Jeff was trying to post hundreds of auction listings (lumps of coal from the Titanic, according to Auctiva legend) - slowly and laboriously typing them into eBay's web pages - when he realized that there was a better way. The software he created, AuctionPoster, allowed him to triple his auction listings and become an auction tycoon. When he made AuctionPoster available online he discovered that he wasn't the only one who needed an efficient way to create listings, as AuctionPoster quickly became the premier way to create eBay listings and sell through auction sites.

The eBay world changed, however, as small businesses began to realize that auctions were an ideal way to reach customers. To meet the needs of these new sellers, Jeff built an engineering team and extended the features of the software. He was later joined by Adam Stock (VP of Marketing), a veteran of Adobe, Liberate, and EFI, and Mark Schwartz, an expert in growing technology-focused companies with a Yale and Wharton pedigree. Together the team refocused the company on the wider goal of helping the small business community develop and manage online sales channels.

In the Spring of 2000, the company acquired eBud, the leading application for tracking auction status and managing the post-sale payment and fulfillment process. In October of that year Auctiva shook the industry to its foundations with the release of Auctiva Showcase, the first merchandising platform for auction sellers.

Today Auctiva software manages over 3 million monthly listings and $300 million in annual sales. Our customers' words tell the story best.