Ableauctions Announces iCollector and Invaluable
Relationship to Broadcast Auctions Through
eBay's Live Auction Service
FIFE, WASHINGTON - July 27, 2004 - Ableauctions.com Inc. (AMEX:AAC) (the "Company") announced today that its wholly owned subsidiary iCollector.com Technologies Ltd. has partnered with Invaluable Ltd. to facilitate auctions for Invaluable's 2,000 clients utilizing eBay Live Auctions, a functionality offered by eBay that allows online bidders to bid on items available at traditional offline auctions.
Invaluable is one of the foremost providers of information services relating to fine art, antiques and collectables, receiving catalogues from some 2,000 bricks and mortar salerooms around the globe. It has been active in the auction market since 1989, alerting dealers and collectors to items coming up for sale at auction houses worldwide. Its clientele of 2,500 top collectors, dealers, museums and heritage bodies already subscribe to these information services which will now be enhanced by the opportunity to link with bidders through eBay.
Invaluable's Auction Search Service is one of the world's largest auction lot databases, containing over 60 million entries. The company processes over 10,000 catalogues annually. It possesses one of the most comprehensive electronic search tools available to help identify stolen property and has facilitated the recovery of over 4,000 objects worth more than $125 million in the last decade.
ICollector will provide a back-end platform to facilitate the broadcast of auctions through eBay Live Auctions. The introduction of live auctions on eBay paves the way for a broader range of services by Invaluable to its clients, increasing the exposure of saleroom inventories while generating an enhanced revenue stream for them. The integration of Invaluable client services and the core iCollector technology is expected to deliver noticeable results and a higher profile for each company.
For more information please contact Mark Illingworth, Director of Sales and Marketing on +44 1983 826000 (email mark.illingworth@invaluable.com), or Thorsten Bonn at 604-521-3369 (email investorrelations@ableauctions.com).
About Invaluable
Founded in 1989, Invaluable was the first company dedicated to the provision of impartial electronic information on antiques, fine art and premium collectables to dealers, private buyers, museums and other institutions.
Today, invaluable.com represents more than 2,000 of the world's leading auction houses, more than any other online agency. Thousands of collectors use Invaluable.com daily to search the catalogues of client auction houses.
Invaluable is utilizing eBay Live Auctions through its relationship with iCollector. It is now able to empower its auction house partners with the tools and support to maximize their results by broadcasting their sales, as they happen, on eBay Live Auctions. The combination of this technological platform and mass-market exposure enables auctioneers to leverage sales, offer a more convenient service to existing customers and achieve outstanding realized prices.
About iCollector.com
iCollector.com is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ableauctions and is the independent connection to the world's auction houses. It was the first company dedicated to trading antiques, fine art and premium collectibles on the Internet and today represents some of the world's leading auction houses. Since January 2001, it has broadcast hundreds of live auctions in real-time on eBay Live Auctions, directly from the salesroom as the auction happens. iCollector can help you find, buy or sell art, antiques and collectibles online.
About Ableauctions.com
Ableauctions.com is a high-tech auctioneer that conducts auctions live and simultaneously broadcasts them over the Internet. With the experience of over 3,000 auctions, the Company has developed state-of-the-art technology to broadcast Internet auctions (www.ableauctions.com/technology) and currently provides technology and related services to auction houses, enabling them to broadcast auctions over the Internet. For a comprehensive Corporate Update and prior releases, visit www.ableauctions.com. For more information, contact Investor Relations at investorrelations@ableauctions.com.