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iRostrum

Maak: running a specialist Multi-Seller auction model under its own brand

Maak - Case Study

Fine Art, Antiques & Collectables | Multi-Seller

Overview

Maak is a specialist auction house and art consultancy focused on contemporary ceramics and craft. Known for its curatorial standards and international audience, Maak has built a reputation for presenting auctions with a high level of professionalism and care.

As its auction activity evolved, Maak required a platform that could support its standards while allowing it to operate fully under its own brand and retain control of its bidder relationships.

Challenge

Maak’s reputation is built on careful curation and high presentation standards. As its audience grew internationally, maintaining those standards online became increasingly important.

As a Multi-Seller auction business, Maak manages consignments from a large number of sellers across each auction. This added operational complexity, requiring a way to handle consignments efficiently while maintaining accuracy, consistency, and control.

Existing auction platforms did not allow Maak to present its auctions in a way that reflected its brand. At the same time, access to bidder data and the ability to manage relationships directly were essential to how Maak operated.

To continue growing, Maak needed a way to run auctions online that matched its standards, supported an international audience, and gave it full control over how its auctions operated.

Approach

iRostrum enables organisations to run auctions under their own brand, using their website as their route to market.

Developed in close collaboration with Maak to support its specialist auction requirements, the platform allowed Maak to:

  • Present auctions in line with its standards
  • Maintain direct relationships with its bidders
  • Operate with clear governance and accountability
  • Run online auctions as part of its core business

Outcome

Maak established a professional online auction operation aligned with its specialist market position. As a result, Maak benefits from:

  • Full control of how its auctions are presented under its own brand
  • Direct relationships with its bidders
  • A consistent experience that reflects the quality of its wider business
  • Greater confidence managing consignments at scale
  • Continued participation from an international audience

iRostrum remains part of Maak’s ongoing auction operations.

What this shows

Maak’s approach reflects how specialist auction businesses operate when they prioritise:

  • Running auctions under their own brand
  • Retaining control of bidder relationships and data
  • Maintaining high presentation standards
  • Managing consignments at scale with confidence
  • Supporting ongoing auction activity as part of their core business

“Having worked with a number of auction systems over the years, I’ve found iRostrum to be intuitive and efficient. It’s also one of the best-looking platforms I’ve seen — presenting the works we sell to the highest standard — which has no doubt contributed to helping us build the company to be a leader in our field. Presentation is key to how your audience perceives you.”

Frances Robinson, Maak

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