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Technology Stocks : eBay - Superb Internet Business Model -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: The Antique who wrote (3391)	6/4/1999 3:51:00 PM
From: Randy Ellingson	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 7772

The Antique- What happens in the case of an auction that, while it has no reserve, does have a minimum bid which is not met. I guess that means there would be no bids. Does the seller pay more than the listing fee, or is that all? Why do people use a reserve price instead of a minimum bid? Doesn't it frustrate people to bid and have it fall below the reserve price? Randy

To: The Antique who wrote (3391)	6/5/1999 7:30:00 PM
From: mrknowitall	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 7772

Hi, Antique - I think it actually takes four re-listings by sellers to trigger action against a deadbeat bidder. From a business standpoint, I see ebay as an inexpensive advertising medium - sort of an advanced form of search engine. Say you post an auction, and you include your web site (and most do). The rules, as I understand them, simply say as a seller you can't sell it for less on the site. I know from experience that MOST people are somewhat wary of e-commerce as it is - and many people are simply uncomfortable in an auction situation. So what ebay is getting is a percentage of a percentage and the sellers with web sites are picking up additional business at an extremely low cost. The single thing that would bother me as a seller is the fact that it really isn't an auction - it artificially closes even when there might be higher bids. Thus the people selling software that will place your bid at the last possible minute or second. Ebay's "proxy" bidding requires someone to pre-determine a value - a nice idea for someone who knows what something is worth, but if you've ever been at a real auction, some of what drives it is ego and excitement. I don't think I'd be a serious seller until they fix that. Mr. K.