Discussion – Online Auctions
LiveAuctioneers deals with rare and unique commodities. These include art, jewelry, antiques, furniture, collectibles, coins, and memorabilia. The online auction also lists commodities in the fashion industry as well as home and garden items. However, these common commodities are vintage and high-end designer brands. Some of the designer brands include Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel, Balenciaga, Celine Brown, and St. John (Laudon & Traver, 2018). While clothing and similar items are not common in auctions, online auctions only include vintage versions of the said commodities. These items are hard to find and expensive due to the brands’ superiority in the market.
LiveAuctioneers provides bidders with single items. The listing allows bidders to view the available items clearly. Therefore, the bid prices that all bidders place are for single items. Most importantly, the website offers items in the late stage of the product life cycle. In this stage, the products have already experienced high demand, low demand, and normalization (Laudon & Traver, 2018). The vintage items, which are not easily available today or are created for high-end markets, make up most of the product portfolio.
E-bay is well known for online auctions. In the recent past, its gravitation towards the traditional e-commerce model has highlighted concerns for businesses that intend to maintain or capitalize on online auctions. The internet has made online auctions easy to conduct, accessible to all, and easy to follow as they happen in real time. However, this technological advantage may not apply to businesses that seek to predict and maximize their profitability. In the future, most businesses are likely to move towards the fixed price model due to the need to predict revenue based on demand and supply. The model also allows the entities to create lasting relationships with consumers by offering quality products (Chaffey, 2019). The move diverts the businesses’ focus from competing with individuals seeking secondary incomes or pursuing hobbies.
References
Chaffey, D. (2019, January). A case study focusing on eBay’s strategy. Smart Insights. Retrieved 2020, from https://www.smartinsights.com/ecommerce/ecommerce-strategy/ebay-case-study-2/
Laudon, K. C., & Traver, C. G. (2018). E-commerce (14 ed.). London: Pearson.
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Question
Search the Internet for an online auction. For the selected auction, review Table 11.6 Factors to Consider When Choosing Auctions and select three of the listed considerations to discuss with respect to the auction. Considering eBay’s conversion from an auction site to one that receives the majority of its revenue from traditional e-commerce, discuss the future of Internet auctions and the viability of the online auction business model.