My family have been auctioneers for at least three generations. I grew up with the noise, the excitement, the hustle, and the bustle of live auctions. It was a part of life for me � almost a way of life. My dad was a shrewd, fast talker, and an even faster thinker. He was a consummate businessman, knowing the ins and outs of every form of wheeling and dealing. Although business is still good, it has been slowly waning in the last few years. Online auctions have changed everything, and auction callers who aren't getting in and taking a piece of it are going to lose their livelihood within a generation or so. Fortunately, my family is smarter than that.

As a matter of fact, we have been in the game almost since the origin of the eBay. Ebay seems to have started the whole thing. I'm not sure if there were online government auctions before them, but if there were, no one was paying much attention to them. Nowadays, however, almost everyone is selling things online. People buy online through eBay, through Amazon, through government websites, and of course, through storefront software run by many different private businesses.

The online auction sites, however, are by far the most exciting. The great thing about online auctions is there is so much business being done at once. Whether you are a buyer or seller, this can be a great advantage. For those of us who run eBay auctions, the number of buyers means that, even if we're selling something pretty obscure, it is only a matter of time until someone comes by to check it out. For buyers, online auctions are great for many reasons. First of all, if you are a smart buyer, you will be able to find someone selling what you want for well below the value. There are just so many sales going on that it is possible to find almost anything for cheap. The other reason online auctions are great for buyers is because there are so many varied and obscure goods available. Things that would take you years to find in antique stores, you can dig out of eBay almost overnight.

If standard, run-of-the-mill auctions ever go the way of the dinosaurs, I will definitely miss them. You just can't beat the excitement and the rush of adrenaline that you get. Nonetheless, I can't complain about the online auctions. If you buy and sell antiques, it is easier than ever before to make money.