Auction Sites

Question…

• How many of you would be willing to buy second hand goods online?

• If not, why not?• What risks do customers take when

purchasing from an internet auction site?• Does the chance of ‘bagging a bargain’

outweigh the risks?

In this lesson students are learning about:

• features of internet auction sites• benefits and drawbacks of buying and selling

goods on an internet auction site• schemes designed to protect people buying

and selling on internet auction sites • methods of paying for goods purchased in an

internet auction

At the end of this lesson students will be able to:

• describe features of internet auction sites• describe benefits and drawbacks of buying

and selling goods on an internet auction site • evaluate schemes that protect people buying

and selling on internet auction sites• evaluate methods of paying for goods

purchased in an internet auction

Features of internet auction sites

• Most online auctions are central websites that allow multiple people to list their items up for auction on the site.

• On this type of auction site, the site does not have the items in stock and does not ship items or collect the payments for the items. The individual people who sell items through the site are responsible for everything regarding the sale, with the site acting only as a third-party venue to make the sale possible.

Read more: http://computer.howstuffworks.com/internet/basics/ebay.htm

Task

• Work in pairs to investigate online auction sites (e.g. eBay, eBid, Play Trader, Amazon Marketplace).

• Pick one and complete worksheet Features of “Online Auction Sites.doc.”

Re-cap

• What are the common features/characteristics?• What are the significant differences between

sites?• How are goods generally paid for?

Selling online

• As a class produce a list of the benefits and drawbacks of selling online for private individuals….

Watch this…

• http://online-auction-sites.toptenreviews.com/online-auction-sites-c120-video-1.html

• Then complete the table in “Selling Online.doc”

Consumer protection

• Not all sellers on an internet auction site are private individuals. Some are business traders.

• Shoppers have the same rights when buying from a business trader selling on an online auction site as they have when purchasing goods from an online store.

• What legislation covers this aspect of business?

But beware when buying from an individual

• For example buying from Facebook “Buy and Sell” pages….

• You have few rights when buying from a private individual on an internet auction site but there are some schemes that are available to protect shoppers.

Buying Online From Private Individuals

• complain if the goods aren’t satisfactory

• cancel the order if you change your mind

• return the goods and get your money back

• ask for a refund if the goods don’t arrive within 30 days

When you buy online from a private individual, you can’t:

Protection schemes for buyers

• site protection

• dispute resolution

• payment protection

• credit card protection

And finally..

• Complete “Online Payment Methods.doc”