Trust and security in online auction sites: eBay, Priceline, and Skyauction

Online Auction Sites Including EBay

Assessing Web Auction Sites

The essences of online auctions are their ability to serve as an open, trusted trading exchange for buyers and sellers of goods and services. Implicit in even the earliest versions of eBay was the concept of trust between buyer and seller being critical for the arms-length transactions to be successfully completed (Hsu, Wang, 2008). Online auctions work as private trade exchanges, where a seller will list products they are interested in selling after first providing validation and verification of why they are. Buyers also are verified in terms of actual identity and form of payment. While there are many variations of auctions, all invite multiple buyers to participate with the assumption that optimal prices will be eventually attained through the bidding process online (Bertsimas, Hawkins, Perakis, 2009). Being able to get the best possible price for a product being offered for sale is the incentive and is recognized by both buyer and seller as the reason for the web auction to exist (Stern, Royne, Stafford, Bienstock, 2008).

The web auctions visited include those for used automobiles and also for discounted airline fares including priceline.com, which functions as an online auction site for hotels, car rentals and entire travel packages. Like eBay, Priceline.com guarantees the authenticity of the user and provides legal recourse to gain funds spent on purchases if products are not delivered. There are additional verification services for security in addition to interactive chat between buyers and sellers as well. eBay, Priceline.com ad Skyauction.com all use multiple layers of security to ensure fraud does not occur in their sponsored transactions. In reviewing potential flights on skyauction.com it is clear that going directly to an airline's website and shopping for specials can actually save money. It is apparent that the costs of running the site are included in the fees as well.