subject: Comparison Between Online Auctions And Traditional Auctions [print this page] With the increased use of internet for shopping purposes, online auctions have also gained significant limelight. Online auctions are however different from the traditional auctions and you need to know the difference before deciding to buy from an online auction or an offline one.
-Showcase Of Items
In traditional auctions, customers can actually touch and see the things they want to place a bid on. They can check it from every angle and can get a closer look at every minor detail. This option is unfortunately not available for online auctions where you can witness the products through the computer screen.
-Auction Place
To start up an offline auction, you first need to rent or lease a place, which involves spending a lot of money. Online auctions do not require these heavy expenses and a simple website is all the owners need to display the items available for bidding.
-Global Reach
The biggest benefit of online auctions is that sellers can sell their products to a large number of people from around the world and are not restricted to a specific locality in case of traditional auctions. Similarly, the buyers can also choose from any online auction website without the constraints of location.
-Communication
Communication with customers may be harder through an online auction as compared to the face-to-face interaction through offline auction. This is one of the major drawbacks of online auctions where you can only communicate via email or telephone.
-Registration
When buying from online auctions, you first have to register yourself with the website to track the status of your auction, whereas no registration is required offline.
-Variety Of Items
Online auctions have a large variety of products. If you dont find your desired item at one place, you can switch to the next auction website. But in traditional auctions, the variety is limited as you cant jump from one place to another that frequently.
-Items Delivery
In traditional auctions, you take home the winning item yourself. In online auctions, you have to wait for the items to arrive through shipping or courier. Many online auctions offer free delivery, which is another plus point of online auctions.
