29/12/2005 Xmas unwanted gifts bonanza on online auction sites

Several articles cover how Christmas unwanted gifts end up being sold on online auction sites...
See for example:
the FT article from 26/12/2005
The Webpronews coverage from 28/12/2005
Two stories published on Auction Bytes, "eBay Survey Shows Americans Re-Gift During the Holidays" from 27/12/2005 and "Tis the Season for Re-Gifting on Online Auction Sites" from 28/12/2005
Yahoo! Finance story on 29/12/2005

20/12/2005 - Last Minute Christmas Shopping on eBay

(PRWEB) December 20, 2005 -- As Christmas quickly approaches so does the shipping deadline of most online stores. For last minute shoppers using eBay the window closes even sooner as buyers rely inexperienced sellers trying to ship the item on time. mapBid at http://www.mapbid.com solves this problem by providing a local eBay search. By using a local search the customer can quickly find eBay items in close proximity to their home. This gives the customer an option to simply drive down to the item location and pick it up themselves. Picking up the item in person also gives the added benefit of getting exactly what you paid for... Read the full article on Yahoo! News. Unfortunately, the service is only in use in the United States!

18/12/2005 - eBay launches new policy to combat digital piracy

A PR Web Press Release indicates that eBay is changing the rules for the sale of e-goods on the online auction site requiring sellers to identify the digital goods and provide more information with regards to file formats, system requirements, etc. In addition, sellers will be required to declare that they are "legally authorised" to sell the product, in other words that they possess all the required IP rights. The full story on Yahoo! News.

15/12/2005 eBay has admitted an "extreme growth" in the number of personal accounts being hijacked by fraudsters.

The BBC reports that the fraud problem is rising and that eBay is now forced to face up to many criticisms, with regards to the high levels of criminal activity and the lack of cooperation with Trading Standards.
For the full details, see the BBC News webpages... click here. Radio Five Live will broadcast on Sunday 18th December 2005 at 7.30, a programme on "Policing eBay".

12/12/2005 Polish programmer creates eBay compatible automatic bidding program

Is the way users bid on online auction sites about to change? The full story on Yahoo! Finance.

09/12/2005 Microsoft tackles pirate software firm

The Register reports that an investigation into the sale of counterfeit software on eBay has led to the closure of an online operation responsible for the sale of over $3 million worth of fake Microsoft software. For the full story click here.

08/12/2005 Ebay - it's Xmas for the UK online retail market

Startups.co.uk reports that eBay sellers drive online growth.According to new figures from Hitwise, sellers on the internet auction site eBay are dominating the UK's online retail sector, claiming over a third of total visits to online shopping sites last week...

08/12/2005 Attention golf club enthusiasts - more online auctions now available...

A press release published on Yahoo! Financial News announces a new partnership between Golf Galaxy,an interactive golf superstore, and Golf Club Exchange. Through this partnership, Golf Galaxy is now able offer over 2,000 pre-owned golf clubs on three different auction exchanges, including eBay, Golf Club Exchange, and Golf Galaxy Auctions.

05/12/2005 Online Auctions are a global obsession apparently!

Well some prefer to be bidding rather than dating. Do we really have to worry? See the short report published in The Mercury and available online on the IOL web pages.

05/12/2005 New Web Site: Auctionbang.com Now Booming With Free Auctions

A new born in the online auction world. See the news reported on Yahoo! News and the PR WEB press release by following this link.