Word: ebay
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...mail that the next pink bear is about to go on the block? In addition to this service, www.biddersedge.com will simultaneously search listings at several auction sites to find sales of items you want and then link you right to them. Every major auction site, including OnSale and eBay, is covered. Now all you have to worry about is overbidding...
Auction sites are becoming increasingly popular as well. Ebay (www.ebay.com) went public in late September, and its stock value has increased 70 percent since the initial public offering. These sites primarily serve as facilitators of exchange between buyers and sellers, and they have no products themselves. Other auction sites include www.onsale.com and www.webauction.com...
Interest will probably surge following eBay's initial public offering of stock last week. The shares, priced at $18, more than doubled in value by week's end, leaving the firm's founder, Pierre Omidyar, 31, with a stake worth more than $600 million. Inspired by a girlfriend who wanted to trade Pez candy dispensers on the Net, Omidyar launched eBay in 1995 and--a rarity among online companies--almost immediately made money. He charged 25[cents] to $2 for each listing and a commission of 1.25% to 5% on each sale...
...sites, well, different. Auction Universe chief executive officer Larry Schwartz recalls how someone tried to sell a live kidney for $250,000 before the company yanked the organ off-line. Suburban mom Kathy Barnett of Hoffman Estates, Ill., says she buys "garage-sale doodads" and quickly resells them on eBay: "I paid 10[cents] for a 1930s cookbook and auctioned it for $10." Ray Geeck of Lake Panasoffkee, Fla., began casually hawking dolls from his home and claims to have grossed $1 million so far this year. Judy Williams of Atlanta, Texas, says she worked her way off welfare...
...EBay encourages users to post feedback about their deals; those attracting too many complaints of unscrupulous trading are barred. Some of eBay's competitors have escrow-type accounts and customized delivery services. Auction Universe has just begun offering an optional "Bid$afe" policy with money-back guarantees and insurance coverage of as much as $3,000. Of course, every auction involves risk of some sort. Just ask the crestfallen bidders who lost out on that Ulysses S. Grant pillowcase. Or the collector still looking for a matching kidney...