Welcome to ICAP, or rather the Independent Coalition of Auction Pools. ICAP is the brainchild of John Lindle, Tim Rokisky and Kenneth Rickli.

"Our goal [was] to make it as easy and as cost-effective as possible for salvage vehicle buyers to participate in our auctions," Rickli explained. "We want to become the first source they turn to when searching for and purchasing inventory, and believe that ICAP, by serving as an online buyers' network, will provide the means to make that a reality."

All managers of their own salvage auctions, Lindle, Rokisky and Rickli realized several trends in the industry that were affecting the auction market. And the reality of those trends was hard to ignore, said Jerry Sullivan, spokesman and ICAP partner.

"Buyers are getting harder to find. There are a lot of recyclers going out of business," he explained. "Land is becoming more profitable as a strip mall than as a [salvage] yard. I remember reading in the Los Angeles Times two years ago that over 50 percent of the auto recycling licenses were turned in between 1990 and 2000. There was a clear need to share some resources between the auctions so we could increase the number of buyers who participate."

The initial discussions happened in September 2004, and by April 2005, ICAP was up and running. "We set it up to be as seamless as possible," Sullivan said. "Buyers simply go to Bid-ICAP.com and register once. This enables them to bid at any of the participating auctions. Buyers only need to be properly licensed to participate.

Using Live Global Bid Technology, ICAP connects bidders to the sites where they can track salvage inventory, flag vehicles for future purchase, pre-bid or bid live. But they never seem to leave the ICAP site.

ICAP charges a buyer's fee that is similar to what the pool or auction would charge if bidding at the physical location. It also offers help with transportation and shipping through its national network of transports.

"We call ourselves a ‘for profit' enterprise, but it's not by much," Sullivan said. "It's really about access. As we bring in more buyers who might not otherwise participate in an online auction, we benefit. The more user-friendly our site is, and the more auctions and vehicles our users can access, the more bidders we'll attract."

At the present time, there are about a dozen auctions tied into ICAP, with another 25 ready for the near future. The auctions are interested because they can increase their buyer base without doing the associated marketing to this new audience.

Another benefit is that ICAP allows independents the same exposure as large national buyers. In that way, it helps promote fair competition in the industry.

With enough participation, ICAP might be able to reach its goal of selling 10,000 cars a week.

"ICAP is a tool for salvage buyers," Sullivan explained. "We'd like it to be the standard among online auctions, and we invite everyone to participate."