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Overview
The market for online auction has been growing rapidly.
Pioneered by ebay.com, online auction has opened up a novel way of how individuals can conduct
business with individuals. Not only individuals but also thousands of small business rely on auction sites like ebay to conduct
the business. Millions of bidders and sellers
have formed a huge market place. The more people, the more listing, the more bids.
Almost anything new or used can be posted online and bid for the best price. As a bidder, you always get the service
free. However, as a seller, you may need to pay a small sum of money,
depending on the auctioneer. How can you be sure you get what you bid for? The auction sites have
developed a rating system to rate sellers. In addition, these sites provide fraud prevention insurance. You can even put
the money on hold by a third party. Today, ebay is still the largest auction site although the aggressive push for auction
by amazon.com and Yahoo among others.
Some e-tailers (like ubid.com) play as business to consumer auctioneers. Here they buy
the products and sell them by auction. The bid may start at ridiculously
low prices (e.g., a computer at $7). Will you end up with a computer at $7, never heard of it.
Will you end up with overbidding? It should not. Because the products have the price tag suggested by
the manufacturers.
| Who are the leaders? (We intend to be unbiased, but can anyone do it?) |
| E-tailer |
Highlights |
| ebay |
The largest
auctioneer in the world with millions of listed items. It
charges for listing (from $0.25) and completed sales (up to 5% of the sale
price). It offers up to $200 fraud prevention. |
| Amazon.com
Auctions |
The largest online retailer
has expanded into auction. It charges $0.10/item for listing and sale (up to 2.5%).
and offers up to $250 fraud prevention. |
| Yahoo!
Auctions |
The most popular web site
also joins the auction war. It offers free auction, for both bidder
and seller! |
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