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.