Bazaar

[wvspecialkvw]

Afternics new wholesale auction for "cheaper" domains..
what do you think ???

http://bazaar.afternic.com/index.php

 

[Duke]

I like it a lot. There is a lot of excitement built into the declining price format and there is a big need for a wholesale venue in the industry. I am using it both as a buyer and seller and I think it will be a hit. Very well thought out concept - those guys are sharp!

 

[tigga]

That is great for sellers - Dutch auctions are one of the best ways to extract the most value from buyers.

Looks like fun too!

 

[proproject]

Tigga, nice point. For those who want more info, the theory is that with an normal auction, the most eager bidder needs to only outbid the 2nd most eager bidder by say $1. But with a declining price, the most eager bidder, thinking at least one other bidder values the domain nearly as much, will buy the item before the price drops too far below what he is willing to pay.

So, if there is a significant difference between what the highest bidder would pay and what the 2nd highest bidder would pay, the declining price auction should indeed fetch a higher price than regular auctions.

However, even though I love economics more than most, I think that emotional/psychological factors mess up a lot of good economic theory when it comes to auctions. Consider sniping on eBay. Theoretically, sniping would not help because the most eager bidder's proxy bid should still win the auction. But I think sniping is popular because the most eager bidder does not answer the proxy bid truthfully.

I think there is also sometimes emotion involved in just "winning" something, so that some regular auctions go above what any bidder would have found acceptable in other circumstances.