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SPOKANE, Wash. — To help provide greater transparency in the wholesale arena and benefit all parties involved, DAA Northwest said it now offers photography for every vehicle consigned through the auction, and uploads the seller's photos for free to AuctionPipeline.

"Every seller wants to get maximum exposure for his or her consignment," shared Lori Pidgeon, DAA's e-commerce manager. "And with inventory in such demand, buyers are looking well beyond their core geographic region for the vehicles they need. Photographing and posting every unit we offer on the AuctionPipeline is beneficial for everyone."

DAA got this thing started by researching and buying new SLR cameras to help boost the picture quality.

"If we're going to post photos, we want them to be quality photos," Pidgeon noted.

The auction also made some adjustments to the quality control area of its reconditioning center so that post-reconditioning photography can be conducted. Officials said the new photography stations allow for "consistent lighting in a reliable environment."

Here is how the photo process is designed to work: Under DAA's check-in process, there are three pictures taken for each consigned vehicle.

Should a particular vehicle not be detailed, its three photos will be uploaded to AuctionPipeline. For units that do receive detailing, there are eight to 10 photographs taken after reconditioning.

These post-reconditioning photos are then posted by DAA to AuctionPipeline.com and Plus. Officials said that DAA uses ASI Exec software for this uploading.

"Posting these photos enables us to provide more transparency in the online buying and selling process," Pidgeon noted.

Moreover, the auction presents its national account consignors as well as an increasing amount of featured dealer groups with written condition reports available through the Web.  

"The more precise we can be, the better," stated Steve Doyle, DAA's dealer sales manager. "We first started posting CRs and photos of dealer cars online in January of 2009."

He added: "In the end, it comes down to relationships — whether a car is sold online or in our lanes. Accuracy on our part means we've done a better job of marketing the car for the consignor while taking the guesswork out of the deal for the buyer. When we make it easier for the parties involved, it's a win-win all the way around."