Online Auctions

Online auctions are becoming a new and popular means of electronic commerce in the computer age. While there are advantages to both selling and buying in the online auction format, there are also certain pitfalls to be noted, from uncertainty about what you may be buying to problems with sites that crash or otherwise encounter problems from time to time.

The typical sales method for such sites is to have the site display items with a description, minimum bid, and final date for all bids. If a user accesses the site and wishes to bid, he or she sends email to the seller, or submits an electronic bid form declaring the price he or she is willing to pay. The bidder will soon receive a reply from the seller confirming the bid. A few sites hold live auctions where bidders compete in real time with other people on the Internet and at the actual auction house as each item goes under the hammer at the same time. Some sites give potential bidders a registration number, and others require bidders to preregister by providing name, postal and email addresses, and sometimes a credit card number. Different sites also use different formats for their auctions. Normally, the minimum bid or current high bid will be posted at the site, and the bidder may top it if he or she wishes. Once the auction closes, the person with the highest bid gets the item, and if two people bid the same amount, the item goes to the person who bid first (Tamosaitis 141).

Related Essays

Cyber Crime Auctions .... millions of international buyers" (Internet, 2000, 1). Internet or Online auctions can be business-to-business, business-to-consumer, or consumer-to-consumer. .... (8039 32 )

Online Shopping & Issues of Safety & Quality .... The effects of consumer risk perception on pre-purchase information in online auctions: Brand, word-of-mouth, and customized information. .... (1692 7 )

Founding of Amazon.com .... 2001). Also in 1999, the company began offering online auctions and became a partner with Sotheby's Auction house. Today, Amazon .... (784 3 )

uBid.com .... uBid.com hopes that by being able to buy products at low prices and stimulate demand through online auctions which drive up prices, they can turn a profit. .... (1153 5 )

E-Commerce & Security & Consumer Behavior .... The effects of consumer risk perception on pre-purchase information in online auctions: Brand, word-of-mouth, and customized information. .... (1698 7 )

provide a robust, stable platform for persontoperson electronic commerce where the users are the shopkeepers" (Battey). The current growth in business conducted on the Internet shows the potential for moneymaking ventures in this new medium, and this includes a variety of transactionoriented Web sites, or online points of sale in which consumers or businesses can purchase goods and services with little more than a browser and Internet access. Webbased transactions are expected to account for about threequarters of the revenue generated this year by Internetbased ventures. Online auctions are one aspect of this commerce. EBay has a good start on this business, but there are other ventures in the field as well. One is the FirstAuction site, at http://www.firstauction.com, which lets customers bid on products in real time. This site also lets users check their accounts and purchase histories, track package shipments, and update their billing and shipping information online. This provides an added service through the same software system. FirstAuction was launched in June 1997 and is already doing nearly $1 million per month in online business (Tweney). Onsale Inc., from Mountain View, California, was one of the f

Category: Science - O