Online Auction Sites & Online Auction Software

Given the phenomenal success of online auction sites, it was only a matter of time before people started clamoring for products that allow them to horn in on the action. Enter, stage right, Virtual Auctioneer.

Auction sites have become one of the most successful e-commerce venues on the Internet today. But if you want to participate, you’ll need the right tools. Who to turn to?

A jewelry exchange may be an unlikely vendor for such an application. But Dallas-based eye media inc. [http://www.eyemedia.net] was actually one of the first vendors to build a true online auction site for its parent company, the Dallas Gold and Silver Exchange [http://www.dgse.com], which has successfully blended retail sales of jewelry, diamonds and fine watches with an e-commerce auction house.

Now eye media is releasing its auction building toolkit to the rest of the world that wants in on the hot auction market without the usual fuss.

Virtual Auctioneer provides enterprises with a tool for every online auction component, from customer information to payment processing. . Virtual Auctioneer (tobacco juice optional) is built around an eye media-developed bidding engine, which was created using Allaire ColdFusion. Virtual Auctioneer allows clients a reasonable amount of flexibility, customization, and power, enough to build a complete, integrated online auction product. The firm declined to name any current users of the product, except the Dallas Gold and Silver Exchange, but said that in the next few months it expects the launch of several new Internet auction sites powered by Virtual Auctioneer.

According to the company, key features of the Virtual Auctioneer include:

– Easy to use, browser-based setup and administration, with flexibility over the auction site’s look and feel.

– Programming environment for customized functionality.

– Object Oriented Architecture allows merchant to upgrade to new enhancements without modifying the visual presentation.

– Extensible Modular Architecture for add-on products, strong security features, an integrated payment system for winning bids.

– Data mining capabilities.

Eye media inc. is confident it is riding the next wave in the Internet business. And a look at the huge success of sites like eBay, Onsale and Priceline shows they are not far off track. There are hundreds of online auction houses already attracting thousands of devoted users every day.

What’s unusual about the DGSE is that unlike most auction sites, it is selling its proprietary software. It is the rare site that’s willing to do that, though apparently many are asked. The online auction mall operated by Playle [http://www.playle.com] goes as far as posting a warning on its site, flat out telling those interested in its software that it’s not for sale.

“We have been asked many times about the software used on our site: where we got it, who designed it, and if it’s for sale,” the site states. “Our software is proprietary. Over a period of eight months, it was designed, developed, and written from scratch by Playle’s Auctions. We do not sell our software.”

But perhaps DGSE is onto something. If selling jewelry is an old-line business, selling software certainly isn’t. At $15,000 to $30,000 per license for the Virtual Auctioneer, DGSE probably sees a huge potential new market for its services.

Virtual Auctioneer has been in development for at least a year, according to Billy Oyster, president of DGSE. Copies were recently given to key customers and analysts and the product has been showcased to developers and potential customers.

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