Online auctions
Online auctions: some aspects of adaptation by Volkov Konstantin Some Facts Revenues from online auctions in USA in 2000 increased from $650 million in 1998 to over $6. ... They are currently experimenting with small online auctions, but want to create agency-wide e-commerce acquisition processes whose centerpiece will be online markets, including auctions. ... Those who do not understand them run the risk of being closed out of these fast-growing markets, or, even worse, seeing an erosion of firm value, as rivals use auctions to gain competitive advantages. However, like the private sector, governments are uncertain about how the use of these auctions will alter the procurement process. ... We don’t really know where you can’t go or shouldn’t go with the tool (online auctions), and I don’t know how far o broadly the tool should be defined” (Brown, 2000). ... For instance, in Italy there is a special situation with regard to online auctions. ... The reason for this prohibition is that in Italy the legal framework relating to the “auctions” deems this kind of operations as involving public interests (i. ... In other case, the regional court of Munster (Germany) argued that online auctions are not auctions in the classic sense, because the prospective buyers merely get a period within they may make an offer. Overbids are not possible after the expiry of this period and a declaration of the highest bid – required and necessary in traditional auctions – is not required (Pilny, 2000 p. ... Although it is obvious that circumstances of such cases are special, the decision is not a step towards providing a more certain legal framework for online transactions. Fertile Ground Lack of special legislation and the fact that online auctions rely on trust between buyers and sellers entailed that it was not long before criminals took advantage of this situation and defrauded their victims.