Online auctions
Online auctions have something in common with online stores, as people are able to acquire items from them, although there is a great difference between them as well. Online auction (or internet auction) is an auction that's organized on the internet. Unlike conventional auctions online auctions are carried out remotely and people can take part in them without actually being in a specific place, by bidding through a website or a computer program. In auctions the time of ending is usually set by the seller himself at the moment of proposition the item for selling. In conventional auctions, on the other hand, the bidding continues up to the moment when the highest price is proposed by the bidders and there is no certain moment of ending. By the end of an internet auction the winning bidder is supposed to transfer a certain amount of money to the seller and the seller is then obliged to send the item in question via conventional mailing services or in some other way (with a courier if the item is extremely expensive). Very often the places of destination can be located not only in some distant areas of one country, but in other countries as well. All shipping conditions are, as a rule, indicated by the seller at the time when the auction begins. The biggest internet auction in the USA, as well as in the world is EBay. This website has been recognized as the most expensive internet business leaving behind such internet giants as Google or Yahoo. Of course, internet auctions are inevitably connected with fraud (when sellers do not ship the item or ship a damaged or false item), although much effort is being made to eliminate it.