Bidding For Charity: Silent Auctions Go Online

Silent auctions have been a staple for raising charitable donations at nonprofit events for possibly hundreds of years. With the proven results of online auctions, the charitable silent auction has started to get a facelift. Biddingforgood.com provides a centralized location to host all kinds of auctions for nonprofit organizations. Not only can they host an organization's silent auction, but they have hundreds of thousands of members themselves that can bid on the items, increasing competition and donation amount. Improvements over the old pen and paper system are obvious. For one, bidders no longer feel intimidated by long list of names that have bid before them, but they also can be aroused to competition if they get an e-mail telling them that they've been outbid. Silent auctions of the past have tended to be social cocktail parties designed to keep the guests for as long as possible while they are bidding, but cocktails and socializing can have a distracting effect that is not conducive to the competitive bidding environment. Another obvious advantage is that all of the philanthropic supporters, instead of merely a fraction, can participate in the auction.

Reference: http://nonprofit.about.com/od/fundraisingauctions/a/auctionsonline.htm
https://www.biddingforgood.com/auction/biddingforgood.action

Getting started on internet auction websites like Ebay

Internet auction websites like Ebay are a great place to make extra money on the side. I have sold plenty of things on Ebay and have made a lot of extra cash over the past several years. I first created an account 6 years ago to purchase an item. Then after about five purchases or so, I began to sell things once I felt like I had generated enough positive feedback to become a trustworthy seller to buyers.
My advice is to buy a few items first to generate some positive feedback and then begin to sell once you have learned the tricks of the trade. Also, try to negotiate with potential buyers about buying via direct paypal invoice. This can save a lot of money when selling expensive items. Always be careful when dealing outside of  Ebay and make sure to always provide a tracking number with accurate pictures.


-Dorian

Personal Perspective of Using Ebay and Online Auctions in General

Ebay is truly the only online auction I have ever used unless you consider craigslist as sometimes ads will contain a message saying "or best offer". Primarily, however, Ebay is simple and something I used to use quite a bit in high school. I had a hobby of playing paintball and anyone that plays or has played can tell you it's very expensive. Too expensive for a regular highschool or college student to afford so I took to Ebay to find what I needed. There I was able to gear that was largely marked down and still new or even gear that was years old that I couldn't find in the store for even cheaper. The reason I bring this up is because Ebay was just too easy to use. I'm not bad with computers by any means or the internet in general, but it was incredibly simple for me to sit down and simply start bidding right away once my account was activated. Not only did I bid on items and attempt to buy them but I also started selling paintball gear I didn't need anymore. One time I purchased a piece of equipment off of Craigslist and put it on Ebay for $100 more and it sold that day. I threw in a "Buy it Now" feature that allowed users to quickly purchase the item instead of having to wait on bidding. This also decreased the time it took to ship, although I came to find out the buyer was right here in North Carolina so that wasn't an issue. All in all, Ebay was a great website that allows virtually anyone to find something they like or become a seller. Some make a living off of using EBay's services.

Who uses Ebay?

Who all uses Ebay? The answer is a ton of people, but to be more specific let's look into the demographics a little. According to a survey done on Ebaypartnernetworkblog.com those who use Ebay are: 36% more likely to be men, 40% more likely to have a four year degree, 19% more likely to be politically liberal, and 30% more likely to be in a relationship. Those who haven't used ebay are 36% more likely to be female, 39% more likely to have a high school diploma, 27% more likely to be politically middle ground, and 35% more likely to be single. Although this is simply based on a survey the results are odd in that it suggests people with a higher level of degree use Ebay more than those without one. Also the fact that men typically use Ebay more might sound surprising since the common stereotype with women is that they love to shop. Although it might also be because the common stereotype for men is that they simply hate going shopping and can do it from the comfort of their own home.

Coming from the personality standpoint of who uses Ebay, the survey suggested: 14% more likely to spend money (which clearly makes since), 16% more likely to be extremely competitive (which also makes since because Ebay is a competition more or less), 10% more likely to say their mood is affected by multiple days of bad weather, 42% more likely to be happy with their job. Survey also suggested that those who don't use Ebay suggested: 16% more likely to save money, 14% more likely to say they're not competitive, 15% more likely to say their mood is not affected by the weather, 28% more likely to be unhappy with his job. As far as saving money it's understandable that those who desire to do so don't place bids on Ebay, however, I don't understand the correlation between mood and happiness with jobs. In any event, the survey was an interesting look at some of the types of people who use Ebay.

What can and can't you sell on Ebay? Rules and Regulations

With the increasing popularity of internet auctions and the ability to sell almost anything at anytime, there must be rules and regulations regarding their uses. There's a large list on under on Ebay's website that includes : adult on material, alcohol, animals, art (which I found surprising), used clothing (which I have sold before), currency, any kind of drug or drug related items, and many more. A few of these items are completely understandable but some are also a little unrealistic. I can understand not being able to sell drugs, mainly because they're illegal almost everywhere but used clothes seems a little odd. I've personally sold a coat on Ebay and have seen plenty of used clothing on Ebay. Although it's under the prohibited items, I think it's because there's certain restrictions as far as selling the item. Ebay is unlike any other auction in that around today. It's relatively lax in terms of what is allowed but also has strict regulations that attempt to keep the buying and selling in order.

There's a reporting policy in which users can report any suspicious activity which helps keep Ebay a reliable auction source. The rating system under Ebay also keeps things in order by allowing users to rate each other when there is a transaction. If a buyer notices a seller with a low rating he or she can look further into why the seller received these bad reviews and can decide for themselves if they want to continue with the purchase.

Ebay through its terms and conditions allows users to safely bid and sell products under their guidelines which is probably why they're still around compared to other bidding sites.

Ebay: not just an auction company

eBay, the first company that we think of when we think "online auctions", now makes less than a third of their revenue from actual fees from auctions. Considering they are the proud owners of Half.com, Paypal, and StubHub, this kind of makes sense. But another major contributor to that revenue-to-auction ratio is the very popular Buy It Now feature, in which customers bypass the whole auction process and can get a good price on an item and have it shipped post-haste, instead of fretting about outbidding unknown people in an auction. Because of the nearly non-existent menu costs of e-commerce, as well as the delayed gratification of online auctions and the prevalence of the controversial practice of bid sniping, eBay is starting to sell more Buy It Now items than it auctions. Experienced sellers know how much their products are going for at auction now, so why wait for a 7 day auction to finish if it will just end up within 5 or 10% of a Buy It Now price? There will always be auctions for collectibles, antiques, and unique items, but for the mundane items from seasoned consumer-sellers, Buy It Now just makes more sense.


Reference: http://www.wired.com/2011/05/ff_endofauction

- Kyle Whittlesey

Shill biddings and ebay tips

Buyers should always be on the look out for shill bidders. Shill bidding is when a seller bids on his or her own auction to increase the amount of the bids. Often times this is done to increase the amount to be received from the auction. The seller could make another account and bid on their own auction or have someone they know do it for them. Ebay auctions generally have three different options that the seller can set the auction for the item up at. Those being buy it now with best offer, a regular auction were the highest bidder wins, or an auction with reserve. If the auction does not reach the reserve amount, the seller can keep the item or relist it. Also, sellers should look out for buyers with low feedback. Often times when the bid of an auction gets extremely high and the buyer has low/ zero feedback sellers should get ready to relist the item. More than likely the buyer will flake and not pay. So that is why I always use auctions with only the buy it now option that requires immediate payment via paypal. That way I won't have to worry about the buyer flaking and me having to relist the item.



-Dorian

Payment options for internet auctions to avoid fraud

There are several different options that can be used to pay for items being purchased via online auctions. The most popular being credit, debit, and money order. I would not personally recommend using money order at all to pay for something on an online auction site such as ebay or Ioffer.com. Paypal is also an excellent option when it comes to payment on online auction websites such as ebay. They offer protection to both the buyer and seller. Buyers have tried to scam me on ebay and sellers have tried to scam me on ebay and ioffer. However, on all occasions I was protected by paypal. So I always got my money back for the item I purchased within a weeks time frame. Paypal puts the funds on hold until the case gets resolved. That way the seller can not remove the funds from his or her paypal account. If the seller has already transferred the money to their bank account, paypal will contact the individuals back and have the funds withdrawn back to the sellers bank account. This way no fraudulent activity can occur. Paypal is quick, safe, and effective way to pay for items not only on auction sites such as ebay, but on various other online websites as well.



- Dorian

Reverse Auctions

As requested by Prof. Stylianou:
First, a description. Reverse auctions take place when there is one buyer and many sellers.
This could be a case where the buyer asks for bids on something and accepts the lowest one, or where the buyer asks for something at a particular price and sellers compete to sell at that price. Under some systems, buyers can choose to use factors other than price to choose the winning bid, such as lead time and quality.
It is most commonly found in the process of procurement, and is used by government and businesses alike. Even though it mostly has business-to-business and business-to-government applications, there are examples of reverse auctions in the business-to-consumer market, such as with Priceline.com's Name Your Own Price system, where customers name a price that they want to pay for a flight, hotel, or car rental and participating businesses try to match that price.
General Electric was an early adopter of using the reverse auction as a procurement device, and a company called FreeMarkets was a pioneer in the field of E-procurement in the 90's using proprietary software. These days, companies of all sizes and structures participate in these types of auctions.

Sources:
http://www.priceline.com/
http://dartmouthbusinessjournal.com/2012/03/online-reverse-auctions-a-cost-saving-inspiration-for-businesses/

- Kyle Whittlesey

How Penny Auctions Work

Penny auctions are becoming a popular way for people to engage in online auctions. Tons of happy customers everyday walk away with bargains such as high priced electronics and gadgets for only a few dollars and change. "How do the companies selling the merchandise do this" and "are the buyers really getting these items for that cheap?" To answer the first question accurately, you must look at the size of the online auction in question. It's common for small online penny auctions to actually buy the product after the winning bid has been taken place and simply ship the item to the winning customer. This is usually because smaller auctions don't have the funds to keep the large assortment of items they need. For larger online penny auctions they typically have a middleman so to speak that will ship the items to the winning bidders. Either way you look at it, the seller is paying for the items they sell because the buyer certainly isn't paying enough to fund them. However, even though it only looks like, for example, one particular bidder is getting a brand new flat screen television for $5.16 what is he really paying? Well depending on the website he's using it's more than $5.16. The way penny auctions work in order to generate revenue for the seller is the concept paying to bid. Each time a bidder places a bid of one penny they pay a set fee to make that bid. For example, if each bid costs fifty cents and the bidder places ten bids on the flat screen and wins then he's getting the t.v. for $10.16. This, of course, is still a great deal and much cheaper than buying a t.v. retail. When there are many bidders paying this same price to bid and the bidding reaches a point of $5.16 then the company has made $258. While that's just an example, it shows how these companies make their money. Quibids reportedly makes a 5-10% profit margin each day which can be compared to Wal-Mart's 3.5% profit margin. Penny auctions can be very lucrative and if the bidder is smart and a little lucky he or she can walk away with whatever they're looking for a fraction of the price.

Sources: http://bidpenny.blogspot.com/2011/01/where-does-quibids-get-their-items.html
http://www.quibids.com/en/quibids101/blog/7-Does-QuiBids-make-excessive-profit-on-their-auctions

Auction Prostitution

Howdy, fellow bloggers.
Here in internet auction-land, things can get pretty weird. There's all kinds of crazy things selling on auction sites that you wouldn't think would ever sell, or be legal to sell. Such as your virginity.
link to article: http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/after-woman-sells-virginity-for-780000-here-are-the-results-of-our-prostitution-survey-8226025.html
I dabble in Economics, so I it was rather interesting to quantify and monetize parts of peoples' lives and experiences. Interesting, and creepy.
We finally have a way to find the maximum global price that any product or idea would go for, and we use it for prostitution? As I've said, interesting and creepy.
Comments are appreciated.

-Kyle Whittlesey

Introduction to Internet Auctions

Internet auctions have become an extremely popular way to purchase goods online. The internet has drastically changed the way auctions can be carried out. Before online auctions, potential buyers gathered together to place continuous bets on a particular item until a winner was announced. Nowadays, these types of auctions still take place but for the average shopper looking for almost anything it's much easier to sit at home or on the go with a smart phone and bid. Certain websites such as eBay, for example, allow the bidder to place a minimum bet. This option causes eBay to bet for you in increments each time the bid goes up from a rival bet, without the user having to manually place the bet. This is just one of the ways internet auctions have revolutionized the way consumers can auction at their leisure without feeling inclined, through pressure, to overspend. Other sites utilize a different method of internet auctioning. Some penny bid sites allow users to place bets in increments of one cent, but the user has to buy each penny they place. This allows buyers to purchase high dollar items such as electronics and other typically expensive items for well under the MSRP. This has become a popular alternative to more traditional online auctioning sites such as eBay and have been gaining popularity through television commercials. Typically all online auctions use PayPal as the primary payment method. PayPal is a third party website that allows users to have money accounts similar to an online bank account. Overall, I predict online auctions in general, just like regular online sales, to surpass traditional auctions by a large amount.