E-commerce :: essays research papers

Running head ECOMMERCEeCommerceThe Popularity of Online AuctionsAbstractThe Popularity of Online AuctionsThe opportunity to shop from the comfort of ones own home has seen a miscellany 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 favorite hobby, and in some cases, a means of livelihood, the online sell gathers tremendous response everyday, all day. With the point and click of the mouse, one may bid on an specific 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 youre 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 everywhere 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 wit h a microscopic care and caution, one can have a positive experience doing business on an online auction, and each party can leave satisfied with their do by, whether they are the buyer, the seller, or the conveyance that brought it all together. eCommerceThe Popularity of Online AuctionsCongratulations 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 mental object in their e-mail box, notifying them that they have won the bid on an item listed with eBay, for sale to the highest bidder. In fact, online auctions have become so popular, they are gathering multi-billion sawhorse per year business. Top auction sites, January 2002Site     Unique visitors     Site     Unique visitorseBay     28.9 million     Myitem.com     860,000Yahoo Auct ions     3.7 million     Bidz.com      612,000uBid.com     3.1 million      BuyBidWin.com     487,000Andale sites     2.2 million     PhilTanny.com     279,000QOOL.com     977,000     SkyAuction.com     262,000All auctions      32.3 million           contrast 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 anyones standards. "EBay has been profitablenearly since twenty-four hour period One," Morningstar analyst David Kathman told the E-