Internet Auction Strategies
Richard Cali, Associate Dean, Business Analytics Program Director and Internship Coordinator; Deborah Cernauskas, PhD, Associate Professor of Business, College of Business, Benedictine University
The past few years have seen an explosion in the types and quantity of items sold through real-time virtual auctions. This new auction arena is attracting many players and a high quality and wide diversity of merchandise, turning eBay into a large swap meet. Live Auctioneers provides the technology and services that allow traditional auction houses access to the Internet auction arena. Auctions are held every day and offer art, antiques, collectibles, jewelry, coins, cars and real estate. The focus of our research is to use visualization techniques to develop bidding strategies for the auction buyer and to develop selling strategies for the auction house. We explore the impact of the following factors on the ability of the auctioneer to maximize revenue and the ability of the buyer to purchase an item at a bargain price: 1) day of the week; 2) time of day; 3) number of items up for auction; 4) speed of the auction; 5) premium or discount paid by asset category.