An auction has basic steps: 1) an object's owner wants to sell it; 2) the owner brings the object to an auctioneer; 3) bidding begins and ends when the auctioneer closes it or the time expires; 4) the highest bidder wins. Auctions can be offline with people bidding in person or online over days. Key strategies are patience, as impatient buyers may overpay, and "sniping" by bidding at the last minute online to avoid being outbid.
3. Whether online or offline, auctions are quite popular
and have been a major attraction for businessmen as
well as common folks and it existed as far as one can
trace back in history. Auctions have existed since the
dawn of time, and they simply continued evolving
alongside its society. In case you are new to auctioning
or if you want to skim through the basic rules, here are
the basic steps that can be seen at a regular auction.
5. There is an object in which you wish to sell, but do not
know how much it could go for; in that case, it may be
better to have it shown to everyone. (It is also quite
possible that you know the value of the object, but
simply want to fetch the highest price possible.)
7. After setting a base price for your object, it is then given
to an auctioneer. This so-called auctioneer can either be
a real person or a website that acts as a virtual mediator.
9. The auction is shown to the public (which does not apply
to a silent auction) people then bid on the object; if
Person A bets $5, then any other individual wishing to
acquire the object must bid $5 plus an increment.
11. The auction will end under at least three circumstance: if
the auctioneer deems the current bid so impressive that
he closes the auction, if the time allotted for the object
has finished and finally, if one person bid and no other
person decided to outbid him.
13. When the digital age came, it brought with it some very
important auction-like websites that specialize in having
items presented and sold exactly like offline auctions.
Evidently, offline auctions end much quicker than online
ones, since the later can actually last for days with bids
flying left and right. As well, it is normally easier to
navigate and get information about items up for auction
on a nicely organized website. Where the offline
auctions get the higher hand is when it is time to finalize
the transaction with the exchange of good and money.
In an online auction, you need to place trust in the seller
to actually send you the item as they will normally wait
until they
14. received the money before sending the object to you;
such problem does not occur in offline auctions
17. Being patient is a key strategy in both type of auctions,
but is probably more prominent in offline auctions, as
everyone came with a set amount of money. It is quite
possible that inexperienced buyers will be eager to
participate in bid wars; waiting is actually quite a good
option, if you are patient, you may see a clearer picture.
19. Sniping is a legitimate and quite popular technique used
in online auctions. Since online auctions are timed, an
eager buyer will be constantly watching over the item. If
you bid an amount of money an hour before it ends, the
eager buyer will definitely notice and bid higher. Sniping
consists of bidding as close to the end as possible;
although very frustrating, this technique allows you to
bid higher than other buyers and blocks them from
outbidding you as by the time the higher bid is noticed,
the auction will have ended. Obviously if you are out-
snipped, then you will have learned the risks of sniping.
