Auto Remarketing: With combination of marketplaces, TradeRev’s US users moving to BacklotCars

By: Joe Overby

CARY, N.C. – The TradeRev and BacklotCars online dealer-to-dealer platforms are being combined into one marketplace, parent company KAR Global said Wednesday.

U.S. dealers are moving from TradeRev to BacklotCars. Meantime, the company’s Canadian dealer customers will continue to use the TradeRev platform exclusively, KAR said.

That migration began on Feb. 1 with the hope of it being completed by the end of March, company leadership said in an earnings call.

“We’re excited to give U.S. dealers the best of both worlds by combining these platforms into a single, consolidated marketplace,” KAR president Peter Kelly said in a news release Tuesday afternoon. “Since the acquisition of BacklotCars, we’ve surveyed our dealers and performed extensive analysis to develop the very best solution for our dealers.

“BacklotCars delivers sellers higher conversion and consistently higher proceeds than a wholesaler, physical auction or other dealer-to-dealer platform,” Kelly said. “And for buyers, BacklotCars offers fees as low as $100, a fully transparent bidding environment, condition reports based on independent mechanical inspections and a 5-day guarantee on major items.”

There is now inventory from thousands of dealers on the newly combined marketplace, KAR said. And 80% of that inventory is bought by dealers beyond the market of the respective seller.

Sales and operations teams have also been combined to aid in onboarding and activating customers.

KAR plans to integrate select features/functions from TradeRev into BacklotCars in the next few months, including the option for dealers to use ADESA physical auctions for tasks such as reconditioning, storage, logistics and sales.

“BacklotCars is all about making wholesale easy so our dealers can be more successful,” BacklotCars co-founder and president Justin Davis said. “We’ll inspect and launch your cars from your lot whenever it works for you — no fees, no risk and no hassles, guaranteed.

“And for buyers, say goodbye to logging in and out of an app all day to keep up with multiple timed auctions. BacklotCars’ bid-ask marketplace lets you browse and buy on your schedule and still closes most deals in under one day,” he said.

KAR announced in September it had reached a deal to purchase BacklotCars for $425 million. That deal closed in November.

Though the BacklotCars platform is “similar to TradeRev,” that the actual format of its auctions is “slightly different” in that it uses a bid-ask marketplace that’s open 24-7, KAR chief executive Jim Hallett explained during a September conference call.

TradeRev uses timed auctions.