Auction Software

How to build and run an auction site — with and without specific auction software.

Online Auction Sites

To get into the lucrative online auction business you will probably need special software. Not all auctions operate in the consumer arena, however, as companies large and small are finding online auctions an effective way of:

• reducing inventories.

• disposing of unwanted, fire-damaged or liquidated stock.

• sourcing materials and suppliers.

• extending their customer base.

• reorganizing their business methods and approaches.

Auction sites, and the software necessary to build them, are therefore categorized as B2B, B2C and C2C. Some packages cover all three categories, but others are restricted to one, or require additional modules. Whatever approach you adopt — and you can build sites with an "out of the box" package, online with the hosting company, or by employing a web design company specializing in this business — you must know what facilities your site is to provide. Therefore spend time examining popular online auctions, supplemented by newsgroups and one of the many books on the subject. Auction sites have an enormous range of features, conveniently classified by this checklist:

• auction types
  • C2C
  • B2C
  • B2B
• categories
  • number and structure of categories covered
  • geographical classification or restrictions
• data input
  • direct
  • from HTML or text
  • from database(s)
  • data input
• escrow service
  • preferred service(s)
  • associated shipping charges
• goods display
  • text only
  • jpg/gif images
  • video
• bid types
  • English
  • Dutch
  • sealed bid
  • reverse
  • fixed price options
  • vickrey
  • consignment
• fees
  • sliding scale
  • listing
  • bold name fee
  • second category
  • exclusive category
  • banner display
  • late payment fee
  • commission or flat fee
• billing
  • transaction methods accepted
  • currencies accepted
  • national/international credit card processing
  • invoice creation
• notification
  • email to bidders
  • email to seller confirming sale/providing purchaser details
• warehousing
  • goods held in-house or by seller
  • insurance arrangements
• shipping
  • methods supplied
  • set charges or as shipper directs
• guarantees and charges arising
  • escrow services
  • fraud protection
  • warrantees
• reports
  • transaction list
  • mailing list
  • record storage
    • databases employed
    • output to email / HTML pages
    • file export to account packages or in CSV form
  • customer account
  • complete auction report
• user feedback
• security measures
• dispute procedures
• visitor tracking facilities
• ease of build, customization and extension
• scalability
• inbuilt affiliation program
  
• help sections
• sections for terms and conditions

Creating an Online Auction Site

Creating auction sites is not for the faint-hearted, and design companies have sprung up to shoulder the burden of planning, building and maintaining such sites. Should you use a design company or build your own? You can certainly save thousands of dollars by using an "out of the box" package, or employing your own in-house IT skills. But these savings may be small compared with the turnover of a successful site — or, more seriously, the cost of getting it wrong. Consider DIY if you're occupying a small market niche, or are simply testing the market. A halfway house is provided by hosting companies that enable you to build a site online with simple-to-use proprietary tools. Our resources page has listings for the three options. The product comparisons page is here.

Maintaining an Online Auction Site

Creating an auction site is nothing compared to running one, and you may wish to use the maintenance services provided by auction-hosting companies, at least initially. Popular ways of getting a site started include:

• setting a price at which a bid automatically wins.

• featuring selected items on other auction sites, drawing visitors to your site by including your URL.

To deal with bogus bids and timewasters:

• impose rigorous payment terms and stick to them.

• vet all winning bids by telephone or email.

• require bidders to log in with personal details.

• run private auctions to accredited bidders.

• blacklist offenders.

• check suspicious bids.

• automatically deny a second highest bid when highest is suspicious.

Marketing through an Auction Site

Our e-book also covers the important marketing outlets provide by eBay and others.

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