Auction Edge, an extensive network of independent auctions, and Carbly, a digital, real-time auction vehicle pricing guide, on Nov. 2 started the Pipeline Market Report, an online hub that collects and segments independent auctions sales data, the companies announced.

Available on Carbly desktop and mobile, Pipeline Market Report is the industry's first such service that draws near-real time results from across the 175 Auction Edge partner auctions. Market pricing is based on actual vehicle sale transactions, providing dealers more confidence when buying and selling vehicles at auction.

The report complements other industry pricing and trend products while filling a need for information in the independent auction segment of the vehicle remarketing industry. Users can see specific vehicle transactions while also retrieving wider trend data on makes and models. For example, the Pipeline Market Report provides such metrics as average transaction price for a vehicle model over the last 90 days, which can more accurately inform a transaction while enhancing its value.  

“The independent auction's place in the market has been overlooked far too long with corporate auction groups taking center stage,” said Auction Edge CEO Dan Diedrich in an interview with VR. “Competition is good, but as the independents have banded together to some degree and operate as a semi cohesive group via the Pipeline, the aggregate amount of inventory being transacted has become meaningful in the market."

Chain auctions have leaned toward institutional and fleet operations, whereas independents are more oriented to the dealer consignment sector, Diedrich said. "We’re missing the picture of the market that is 30% of the volume. It felt like that was a story people needed to hear and see how it fits into their buying and selling plans.”

The key benefits and features with Pipeline Market Report in Carbly include:

• 100% transparency: VIN-level sale comps. View actual sale details, condition reports, and pricing associated with transactions that drive the pricing guidance.

• Volume: Access to over 175 independent auctions selling about 50,000 units a week or just over 2.5 million per year.

• Wholesale market data set with historical trend lines showing you where the market is headed, and how quickly it’s moving.

• Daily transaction updates mean dealers can stay on top of rapid market shifts.

“One of our users' biggest requests is an unfiltered look into wholesale transaction data, and Auction Edge is in the perfect position to deliver that data,” said Scott Roth, CEO of Ambient Automotive, in a press release. “The deep automotive industry experience within Auction Edge has enabled us to provide a valuable service for our customers. The addition of independent auction data provides an incredible new view into our already rich, robust data ecosystem.”

Pipeline Market Report emphasizes more thorough insights into the conditions of vehicles at auction locations, Diedrich said. “You have the visibility into the real condition of the car, and in a VIN-to-VIN environment, that is meaningful to buyers in particular. When you can zoom in and look at the line level detail condition of a vehicle, it tells a better story about the outliers in particular. Mileage and grade doesn’t tell the whole story."

The core target users for the Pipeline are buyers and sellers of vehicle inventory at independent auctions, Diedrich said. “Typically, they are far more interested in a specific vehicle or set of vehicles they want to buy or sell. The macro market view is not a target for the consumer of our data.”

The service will provide an increased level of transparency, and in many cases, more depth in terms of transaction counts of vehicles, he added. “For any vehicle, regardless of where it is, we have enough comps whether or not you are buying or selling at one of our auctions.”

As part of its rollout, Auction Edge and Carbly are offering Pipeline Market Report on a free trial to dealers for a few weeks. The report will be offered to users on a paid-subscription based model through the app.

Pipeline Market Report for Carbly is available immediately at https://getcarbly.com