Auctions

WebSphere Commerce provides an auctioning component that lets you sell products to the highest bidder. This component provides an ideal environment for implementing small to moderate-scale auctioning as part of your e-commerce solution, and for conducting auctions simultaneously. In addition, Auctions offer special advantages in these situations:

• When you are uncertain about the size of the market and the willingness of buyers to purchase a product; for example, when selling used or reconditioned products

• When a product's price has been set too high initially, and you want to determine a price based on market demand

• When you want to promote new product lines or liquidate inventory

Features of interest to auction administrators include the following:

• Auction types

• Auction rules

• Auction styles

• Bid rules

Features of interest to bidders include the following:

• Notification messages

• Autobids

• Auction gallery

• Discussion forums

Notes:

1. Before you begin working with auctions for the first time, enable auctions.

2. Administrators cannot place bids on auctions.

Related concepts

• Pricing mechanisms

• Auction deposits

• Auction scheduling

Related tasks

• Enabling auctions

• Create an auction