Online auction sites have been on the rise since 1995, when Ebay was founded. With the addition of broadband and faster connections more and more people are looking to buy products and services online via auctions, classified ads and ecommerce sites.
Online Auction sites work on the premise that there is a seller and a buyer looking to buy products. In a typical online auction the seller places a price (or reserve) on an item, and the buyers bid on the item. There are usually time constraints for auctioned items, but these can be specified by the buyer.
Online Auctions differ from normal auctions in that there are no geographical constraints, there are many many bidders, many sellers selling the same items, and there is also a social interaction not found in a typical auction. Sellers and Buyers, can be rated or given feedback depending on a variety of factors:-
Quality Of Items Sold
Speed of Service
Fast Payment
Description Of Item
What Is A Online Reverse Auction
A online reverse auction differs from the typical version of auction, where the Seller is in control of who actually buys the item, in that the buyer is the one who is control of the auction. Online Reverse auction's come in very many form factors. From Goods, services and even jobs.
The buyer who has an item or service they need, post there requirements, and then sellers are invited to contact the buyer with there bid for the item. Buyers can normally be descriptive in there requirements and ask for the exact product or service they require for the price they are willing to pay.
The online reverse auction has clear advantages to both the seller and buyer.
Seller
You only pay a fee when your item sells. So no high listings feeds for items that you end up having to relist.
No waiting time for bidders. No need to put your item on auction and then waiting days, weeks or even months for it to sell, if it ever does!
Choose which buyer you wish to sell too, by reviewing feedback before contacting
Buyer
Can normally post many wanted items for FREE
No risk and no fees
Buyer in control of who to buy from
Pay only the price a buyer is willing to pay
In summary the online reverse auction gets round a lot of critiscm of the usual online auction experience. As more and more users look to buy online the auction experience could get richer for both buyer and seller
