Fourth Wave auction software

Posted on 21 May 2009 | by Aaron Traffas, CAI, ATS, CES

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Fourth Wave, LLC

Fourth Wave, LLC, a vendor of auction clerking and cashiering software, has apparently closed its doors.

On May 13, we received an email from an auctioneer claiming that he had purchased the software and needed to contact Fourth Wave but was unable to do so. We noticed that the website, fourthwave.net, was indeed down and we sent an email inquiry.

Later that day, we got another email from the same auctioneer who reported he had just received a letter from Fourth Wave. The letter allegedly contained a refund and stated that the company may be going out of business.

Now over a week later, we have additional reports of other Fourth Wave users receiving similar letters. We still haven’t received a response to our initial inquiry and fourthwave.net remains down.

We were approached in February by Fourth Wave with a request from them to be featured on the Auction Podcast. We agreed but couldn’t nail down a time. This chain of events seems fairly quick, and the strange twist is that their website recently went back up at a different URL with no announcement other noticeable change of content.

Do you have any more information regarding Fourth Wave? Let us know in the comments.

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Aaron Traffas, CAI, ATS, CES

twitter.com/traffas | aarontraffas.com | aarontraffasband.com

Aaron Traffas, CAI, AMM, CES, is an auctioneer from Sharon, Kansas. For the last 22 years he's worked for Purple Wave. Aaron served as president of the Kansas Auctioneers Association in 2017 and on the National Auctioneers Association Education Institute Board of Trustees from 2009 through 2013. He is a past instructor at CAI and co-wrote the original ATS and AMM designation courses from NAA. An active contract bid caller, he has advanced to the finals in multiple state auctioneer contests. During the summer, Aaron operates a farm in south central Kansas. Aaron is an active singer and songwriter and the Aaron Traffas Band's latest music can be found at aarontraffasband.com as well as Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon.

14 Responses to "Fourth Wave auction software"

  • By Mike Brandly 22 May 2009 - 2:54 am

    The new website is still up, but there are menu items that, when clicked, do nothing. I don't get it.

  • By J Shipley 26 May 2009 - 2:30 pm

    I have had no luck reaching them. That is too bad, I really enjoyed working with them.

  • By Aaron Traffas 28 May 2009 - 12:30 am

    Have you selected another software solution?

  • By Annonymous 11 July 2010 - 10:21 pm

    I am a previous employee of Fourth Wave LLC, If you owned the software fron 2006 to 2008 you spoke with me. They have indeed went out of business. The web addy that is up was just a web site we were setting up before the company decided to close and apparently they haven't pulled it yet. They have opened a new company at the same location called RBIDS. The physical address is still occupied by the same people just selling different software now. From previous experience I would say they overpromised and underdelivered one too many times.

    • By Taylor 4 November 2011 - 12:54 pm

      This is there any way to get any tech support on the handheld

  • By Annonymous 12 July 2010 - 3:21 am

    I am a previous employee of Fourth Wave LLC, If you owned the software fron 2006 to 2008 you spoke with me. They have indeed went out of business. The web addy that is up was just a web site we were setting up before the company decided to close and apparently they haven't pulled it yet. They have opened a new company at the same location called RBIDS. The physical address is still occupied by the same people just selling different software now. From previous experience I would say they overpromised and underdelivered one too many times.

  • By Aaron Traffas 12 July 2010 - 1:36 pm

    Thanks for taking the time to give us an update.

  • By Anonymous 13 July 2010 - 10:00 pm

    No problem. Sad really b/c it was and still is by far the best software for the auction industry. The owner is a great programmer and really understands the industry.

  • By anonymous 17 June 2011 - 7:33 pm

    Is there any way to get the server software for forthwave auctions.  I have towers, scanners, handheld clerking, printers but not the server.  My mother computer got stolen with the software and cannot use the program without that computer.  Chuck, the owner of fourthwave is no help unless you give him your credit card number.  Any suggestions?

    • By Aaron Traffas 16 July 2011 - 7:54 pm

      I don’t have any suggestions. I don’t know much about what happened to Fourth Wave, other than they don’t seem to be around any more. I’m sorry that you’re in that predicament. If anyone else knows a solution, please help us here in the comments.

  • By Anonymous 6 January 2012 - 12:56 am

    Getting in touch with Chuck is the only way that I know of. No one else is legally licensed to sell the software. Also, as you know, almost all software packages were custom so therefor almost all server software is a custom build. We were working towards a generalized product when he went under. Sorry but Chuck is your best bet.

  • By Anonymous 6 January 2012 - 1:00 am

    In regards to the handheld question, once again Chuck is the man. We wrote that program and customized a lot of versions so if you can get in touch with him good luck. Sorry for the news, but I can tell you if you look up the model on the internet and look up directions on a “soft reset” this will usually solve the problems they have. Remembering to reconnect to the network afterwards.

  • By Chris 21 April 2015 - 3:43 pm

    Is there any interest in a next gen clone of fourth wave auction software?

    • By Aaron Traffas 22 April 2015 - 7:19 am

      I doubt it. Auction Flex and WaveBid are pretty dominant in the space, and it would be a hard sell.