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IWS
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Internet World Stats> Internet Coaching> Internet
Auctions
How to
Make Money in the Net Auction Business
Can you really make money with online auctions? Here's the short
answer: Yes, yes and yes. How does an existing market with
millions of people from all over the world actively shopping for
specific items 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year
sound to you?
This kind of buyers is what you will find at online auctions
sites which are growing at an explosive rate and show no signs of
slowing down.
In May 2000, U.S. Internet users spent an astonishing $223
million dollars at online auctions. The following year, spending
doubled to $556 million dollars by May 2001. And for 2004
eMarketer, a leading provider of Internet statistics, predicts
that revenue from online auctions will grow to $16.3 billion
dollars!
There are many Internet Auction Sites where people can buy
all sort of goods. eBay" was the first online auction site, and
is currently the most widely known and used. It is the leading
online marketplace for the sale of goods and services. It was
started in 1995, to provide a central location to buy and sell
unique items and to meet other people with similar interests.
Today, eBay reports a whopping 42.4 million registered users,
and is the most popular shopping site on the Internet. Currently,
there are over 1,000 retail auction sites in operation, with eBay
dominating the market.
The most popular Auction Sites are the following:
eBay"
Yahoo!
Auctions
Amazon.com
Auctions
Auction
Addict
Auction
Port
Auction-Warehouse
BuyIt
SellIt
QXL
uBid
What are auction buyers looking for? According to a Harris
Interactive Poll conducted on 2,196 people, online auctions
appeal to bidders mainly because:
- they are looking for bargains (43 percent)
- hard to find items (23 percent)
- or things they collect (21 percent)
Auction items may be new, used, vintage collectibles, valuable
antiques, or services. People collect almost anything, and will
turn to online auction sites like Ebay to find "the thing" to add
to their collection, or just find a good deal for a gift or
something they need, or find something which may not be readily
available in the area they live.
Of those who have participated as bidders in online auctions, 83
percent have actually bought something. Auction buyers are
spending money online. The average value of most purchases was
$100 or less (75 percent), but 21 percent of buyers said the
average value of their auction purchases was between $101 and
$500.
This brings us back to our main question: Can you make money
with online auctions? Absolutely yes! If you have what online
auction buyers are looking for, priced and presented
attractively, it will sell in an online auction. And it could be
just about anything!
About the Author:
Enrique De Argaez is the webmaster of several
multilingual web sites and author of four newsletters. Since 2000
he has been collecting Internet Usage Statistics for over 233
countries and regions of the world, and publishing these
statistics for free use by the academia, the global business
community and the general public. For Internet World Usage
Statistics, visit: http://www.InternetWorldStats.com
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