electronic auction (eAuction)

The electronic auction (eAuction) is an e-business between auctioneer and bidder that takes place in an electronic marketplace. It is an electronic trade that takes place as business to business( B2B), business to consumer( B2C) or consumer to consumer( C2C).

In electronic auctions, the auctioneer offers its goods, commodities or services on an auction platform on the Internet. Interested parties can submit their bids for the product to be auctioned during certain specified periods. The auction is transparent, every interested party can follow the auction in real time. As with other auctions, the highest bidder wins the auction at the end of the auction period.

Electronic auctions know several auction types and bidding procedures, which are limited in time. The auction types are divided into sales auctions, forward auctions, procurement auctions, reverse auctions, and multidimensional parametric auctions. With the Forward au ctions goods, raw materials and services are offered and the buyer and/or the Bieter is determined by means of Bieterverfahren. While one bidder places his bid for the product to be auctioned, the other interested parties see this bid and can respond to it by placing a higher bid. At the end of the specified auction period, the bidder with the highest bid is awarded the contract.

The situation is different in reverse auctions. In this auction process, the supplier, which can be a company, sets its maximum price for a clearly defined good or service. The bidders, i.e. suppliers, then set the minimum price they would like to achieve for their service. They undercut thus the maximum price. The procurement price thus decreases in the course of the bidding process.

Auctions take place on the Internet on auction platforms, of which the most well-known is E-Bay. It is characterized by a wide range of offers. There are a large number of other platforms, but also various specialized platforms that have specialized in niche markets.