E-commerce :: essays research papers

Running head: ECOMMERCE eCommerce The Popularity of Online Auctions Abstract The Popularity of Online Auctions The opportunity to shop from the comfort of ones own home has seen a change like never seen before. Within the span of a few short years, what may have began as an experimental idea has grown to an immensely popular hobby, and in some cases, a means of livelihood, the online auction gathers tremendous response everyday, all day. With the point and click of the mouse, one may bid on an item they may need or just want, and in moments they find that either they are the top bidder or someone else wants it more, and you’re outbid! The excitement of an auction all from the comfort of home. With this opportunity to buy sight unseen also comes the opportunity to be scammed sight unseen as well. There are over 30 million ‘hits’ each month on the online auction sites, and that is opportunity waiting to be taken for those with the criminal intent of defrauding others. However with a little care and caution, one can have a positive experience doing business on an online auction, and each party can leave satisfied with their ‘deal’, whether they are the buyer, the seller, or the conveyance that brought it all together. eCommerce The Popularity of Online Auctions â€Å"Congratulations! This eBay item has successfully ended.† (eBay, retrieved 11 April 2002, Sellers Guide, http://pages.ebay.com/help/sellerguide/after-whatnow.html) Many people each day receive this message in their e-mail box, notifying them that they have won the bid on an item listed with eBayà ¢, for sale to the highest bidder. In fact, online auctions have become so popular, they are gathering multi-billion dollar per year business. Top auction sites, January 2002 Site Unique visitors Site Unique visitors eBay 28.9 million Myitem.com 860,000 Yahoo! Auctions 3.7 million Bidz.com 612,000 uBid.com 3.1 million BuyBidWin.com 487,000 Andale sites 2.2 million PhilTanny.com 279,000 QOOL.com 977,000 SkyAuction.com 262,000 All auctions 32.3 million Note: Usage numbers for individual sites exceed total because duplicate users, those visiting more than one site, have been eliminated. The total does not include Amazon.com Auctions. Source: Jupiter Media Metrix (Mulrean, J., 5 steps to avoiding auction rip-offs, retrieved 12 April 2002 from MSN Money, http://money.msn.com/articles/smartbuy/dollarwise/9013.asping ground for fraud.) In 2000, the eBay community transacted more than $5 billion in annualized gross merchandise sales (value of goods traded on the eBay site). (eBay, retrieved 11 April 2002,Company Overview, http://pages.ebay.com/community/aboutebay/overview/index.html), and for all of 2001, EBay generated revenue of US$748.8 million, representing a 74 percent annual growth. That is serious money by anyone’s standards. "EBay has been profitable nearly since Day One," Morningstar analyst David Kathman told the E-