E-Commerce: E-Auctions:

Module 04
E-Auctions:

Fundamentals of Dynamic Pricing and E-Auctions:

Auction: Market mechanism by which buyers make bids and sellers place offers; characterized by the competitive and dynamic nature by which the final price is reached.

Electronic auctions (e-auctions): Auctions conducted online.

Dynamic pricing: Prices that are determined based on supply and demand relationships at any given time.

Fig: Types of Dynamic Pricing:

One Buyer, One Seller:

•         Popular in B2B

•         Each party can use negotiation, bargaining, or bartering.

•         The resulting price will be determined by:

•         Bargaining power

•         Supply and demand in the item’s market

•         Business-environment factors.

One Seller, Many Potential Buyers:

Forward auction: An auction in which a seller offers a product to many potential buyers.

Sealed-bid auction: Auction in which each bidder bids only once; a silent auction, in which bidders do not know who is placing bids or what the prices are.

Vickrey auction: An auction in which the highest bidder wins but pays only the second-highest bid.

Fig: Types of Forward Auctions:

One Buyer, Many Potential Sellers:

           

Reverse auction: Auction in which the buyer places an item for bid (tender) on a request for quote (RFQ) system, potential suppliers bid on the job, with the price reducing sequentially, and the lowest bid wins; used mainly in B2B and G2B e-commerce.

B2B Reverse Auctions:

C2C Reverse Auctions:

“Name-Your-Own-Price” Model: Auction model in which would-be buyers specify the price (and other terms) they are willing to pay to any willing seller; a C2B model, pioneered by Priceline.com.

•         Enables consumers to achieve significant savings by naming their own price for goods and services.

•         Same concept as C2B reverse auction, in which vendors bid on a job by submitting offers and the lowest priced vendor or the one that meets the buyer’s requirements gets the job.

Many Sellers, Many Buyers:

Buyers and their bidding prices are matched with sellers and their asking prices based on the quantities on both sides and the dynamic interaction between the buyers and sellers.

Benefits of E-Auctions:

A.    Benefits to Sellers:

•         Increased revenues

•         Optimal price setting

•         Removal of expensive intermediaries

•         Better customer relationships

•         Liquidation

•         Lower transaction costs

•         Lower administrative costs.

B.     Benefits to Buyers:

•         Opportunities to find unique items and collectibles

•         Lower prices

•         Entertainment

•         Anonymity

•         Convenience.

C.    Benefits to E-Auctioneers:

•         Higher repeat purchases

•         A stickier Web site

•         Expansion of the auction business.

Limitations of E-Auctions:

–        Possibility of fraud

–        Limited participation

–        Security

–        Auction software

–        Long cycle time

–        Monitoring time

–        Equipment for buyers

–        Order fulfillment costs.

Strategic Uses of Auctions and Pricing Mechanisms: Through dynamic pricing, buyers and sellers are able to adjust pricing strategies and optimize product inventory levels very quickly-

•         Suppliers can quickly flush excess inventory and liquidate idle assets

•         Buyers may gather the power to procure goods and services at the prices they desire.

Fig: The E-Auction Process:

The E-Auctions Process and Software Support:

Phase 1: Searching and Comparing:

-          Finding When and Where an Item Will Be Auctioned.

-          Auction Aggregators (Companies that use software agents to visit Web auction sites, find information, and deliver it to users) and Notification.

-          Browsing Site Categories.

-          Basic and Advanced Searching.

Phase 2: Getting Started at an Auction:

-          Registration and Participants’ Profiles.

-          Listing and Promoting.

-          Pricing.

Phase 3: Bidding:

-          Bid Watching and Multiple Bids.

Sniping: Entering a bid during the very last seconds of an auction and outbidding the highest bidder (in the case of selling items)

-          Proxy Bids.

Phase 4: Post-auction Follow-Up:

-          Post-auction activities:

•         Bidding notifications

•         End-of-auction notices

•         Seller notices

•         Postcards and thank-you notes.

-          User communication:

•         Chat groups

•         Mailing lists

•         Message boards.

-          Feedback and ratings

-          Invoicing and billing

-          Payment methods

•         P2P transfer service

•         Escrow service

•         Credit card payment.

-          Shipping and postage.

Additional Terms and Rules:

Vertical auction: Auction that takes place between sellers and buyers in one industry or for one commodity.

Auction vortals: Another name for a vertical auction portal.

Double Auctions, Bundle Trading, and Pricing Issues:

Single auction: Auction in which at least one side of the market consists of a single entity (a single buyer or a single seller)

Double auction: Auction in which multiple buyers and sellers may be making bids and offers simultaneously; buyers and their bidding prices and sellers and their asking prices are matched, considering the quantities on both sides.

Bundle trading: The selling of several related products and/or services together

Prices in Auctions: Higher or Lower?

Pricing Strategies in Online Auctions:

•         Sellers have the option to use different auction mechanisms, such as English, Dutch, sealed-bid first price, and sealed-bid second price

•         Buyers should develop a strategy regarding how much to increase a bid and when to stop bidding

Types of E-Auction Fraud:

01.  Bid shielding: Having phantom bidders bid at a very high price when an auction begins; they pull out at the last minute, and the bidder who bid a much lower price wins.

02.  Shilling: Placing fake bids on auction items to artificially jack up the bidding price.

03.  Fake photos and misleading descriptions

04.  Improper grading techniques

05.  Bid siphoning

06.  Selling reproductions as originals

07.  Failure to pay

08.  Failure to pay the auction house

09.  High shipping costs and handling fees

10.  Failure to ship merchandise

11.  Loss and damage claims

12.  Fake escrow services

13.  Switch and return

14.  Other frauds.

Protecting Against E-Auction Fraud:

–        User identity verification

–        Authentication service

–        Grading services

–        Feedback forum

–        Insurance policy

–        Escrow services

–        Nonpayment punishment

–        Appraisal services

–        Physical inspection

–        Item verification

–        Other security services.

Bartering and Negotiating Online:

Bartering Online:

Bartering: The exchange of goods and services.

Electronic bartering (e-bartering): Bartering conducted online, usually by a bartering exchange.

Negotiation and Bargaining:

Online negotiation: A back-and-forth electronic process of bargaining until the buyer and seller reach a mutually agreeable price; usually done by software (intelligent) agents.

–        Technologies for Electronic Bargaining

1.      Search

2.      Selection

3.      Negotiation

4.      Continuing selection and negotiation

5.      Transaction completion.

Issues in E-Auction Implementation:

•         Using Intermediaries:

–        The following are some of the popular third-party auction sites:

•         General sites

•         Specialized sites

•         B2B-oriented sites

•         Using Trading Assistants

•         Auction Rules

•         Strategic Issues

•         Auctions in Exchanges

•         Infrastructure for E-Auctions

–        Building Auction Sites

•         Auctions on Private Networks

–        Pigs in Singapore and Taiwan

–        Livestock in Australia.

Fig: Integrated Auction Business Model:

Fig: Auctioning Pigs in Singapore:

Mobile E-Auctions and the Future of Auctions:

•         Benefits and Limitations of Mobile Auctions

–        Benefits

•         Convenience and ubiquity

•         Privacy

•         Simpler and faster

–        Limitations

•         Visual quality

•         Memory capacity

•         Security

•         The Future of E-Auctions

–        Global Auctions

–        Selling Art Online in Real-Time Auctions

–        Strategic Alliances.