Josh joined the Artfact team in January this year and is responsible for product strategy and planning across the company’s three websites: Artfact.com, AuctionZip.com and Invaluable.com. Thanks to his years of experience in the Internet world and impressive track record of bringing innovative products to market, Josh has already made a positive and lasting impact at Artfact.
What’s different about working on a live bidding platform vs. other software you have worked on?
As far as the technology is concerned, there is a level of complexity and breadth of functionality that is more substantial than my previous experience. It really comes back to the many considerations that go into providing great auction software – all of the workflows between bidders and sellers, the nuances of running an auction, such as handling absentee bids alongside active bids coming in from multiple users across the world. There is a lot to consider when adding and improving features - many scenarios to run through to ensure we have everything covered.
As far as the technology is concerned, there is a level of complexity and breadth of functionality that is more substantial than my previous experience. It really comes back to the many considerations that go into providing great auction software – all of the workflows between bidders and sellers, the nuances of running an auction, such as handling absentee bids alongside active bids coming in from multiple users across the world. There is a lot to consider when adding and improving features - many scenarios to run through to ensure we have everything covered.
There’s also so much to appreciate about the variety of items that are put up for auction, and that leads to lots of interesting discussions. We’re appreciative of the beautiful and rare items that are sold every day on our websites, but also enjoy the unexpected items. Just this month we hosted an online auction of life size wax figures that included Charlie Chaplin, Albert Einstein, and Abraham Lincoln.
What product enhancements have you recently delivered?
In 2012, our tech team made some incredible improvements to the backend code that powers the interface used by our bidders and auction houses. This included removing the requirement that bidders download a 3rd party Java component in order to use the bidding console. It was a step in the process that caused a lot of headaches, as it created multiple hurdles for the bidder to jump over just to get to the point of being able to follow the auction & bid. We also improved how the console is displayed, so it’s easier to read, added the ability for bidders to place a “maximum bid” during an auction, and made it easier for a bidder to determine their available bid limit.
We’ve also worked on making it easier for users to save common searches as keyword email alerts, improved how we track the popularity of auctions, and many other subtle, positive updates to the Artfact experience.
What has been the effect of those enhancements, and the feedback on them?
We’ve had a great response to things like removing the requirement to download Java components in order to participate in an auction. That was a user requirement that no one was sad to see go.
What are you focused on delivering next? Where do you see the online auction industry in 5 or 10 years?
There’s no end to the list of requests and enhancements that users would like to see on the site and in our functionality. We’re excited to continue looking at improvements to make it easier for users to find great items to bid on, and help auction houses promote and run their auctions as efficiently as possible. As for the future, I think there will be a few key developments in the years to come. One that comes to mind is the ubiquity of mobile devices. I see a world where auction houses are using mobile devices as a key lever for moving their catalogs online. And bidders will have more options too; whether for real-time research at a live auction, or to participate in more auctions across the world with a swipe and a click.
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