VB3: ›› How Our Online Auction Works

Our Auction Technology History

In 1998 - Copart became the first vehicle auction company in the world with physical  auction locations to allow buyers to submit proxy bids over the Internet.

In 2001 - Copart introduced virtual bidding, allowing Members to interactively compete online, in real time, within our live auctions.

In 2003 - Copart developed VB2, Virtual Bidding - The Second Generation, a new auction-style remarketing technology coupling an open preliminary bidding process with live, online vehicle sales. Using preliminary bidding, Members can enter the maximum price they are willing to pay for a vehicle and Copart's Bid4U (Bid for You) feature incrementally bids for the vehicle on their behalf. Members who are outbid receive an email notification and are provided the opportunity to re-bid on the vehicle.

In 2013 - Copart has revolutionised the automotive industry with its new auction platform, Virtual Bidding - The Third Generation (VB3). With VB3, buyers around the world have three great ways to join our auctions: mobile phone, portable tablet and online*.  VB3 also introduces our personalised multi-auction dashboard. This dashboard allows buyers to take part in multiple auctions simultaneously, all from within a single browser. Buyers can toggle between small and large versions of auctions, as well as organise their on-screen display of live sales through innovative drag-and-drop widget functionality.  VB3 also eliminates the need for frustrating plug-ins and supports all of the latest browsers.

In 2019 - Copart added several enhancements to our industry-leading VB3 auction. We made changes to our auction introducing gamification, driving customer engagement and bidder activity. We also expanded our preliminary bidding period so that Members can pre-bid on Lots that are two units away from being the Lot on the block in the live auction.