Online auctions allowed the removal of time and place restrictions from a face-to-face auction and made general participation possible.

Over the years, the concept of online auction activity has proliferated to the various sectors of activity and, in addition to auctioning art (a pioneering area in the auction sector), nowadays you can also find real estate, cars, technology, equipment (…). However, it was in 1995 that the great revolution arose and auctions ceased to be carried out only in person and began to be carried out online, through the creation of the first online auction website, eBay, founded in the United States. from America.

Currently, although there are still face-to-face auctions, electronic auctions are beginning to gain strength, since the client has the possibility of expanding their recipient options and also manages to reduce the auction cycle simultaneously due to the facilities that the digital age presents.

Online auctions allowed the removal of time and place restrictions from a face-to-face auction and made general participation possible. Auction websites have the resources to improve the quality of business, and many offer the ability to include multiple images of the featured asset, allowing potential recipients to research items thoroughly before making a purchase.

In addition, bidders can view the comments and rankings of other users who have won auctions from the same client, knowing in advance the “reputation” of the sellers.

Additionally, several auction houses have benefited, in economic and brand terms, from the inclusion of digital operations, which not only allow the scope of the interested public to be extended, but are also convenient and practical.

Online sales are not the future of auctions, since they are very present today.

Online sales are not the future of auctions, since they are very present today. For example, the famous Christie’s house in South Kensington (London) closed its doors to make way for digital platforms.

Some specifications of electronic auctions

Notwithstanding the fulfillment of other obligations applicable to auction activity, electronic auctions must comply with the following:

  1. Clear and unequivocal disclosure of the date and time of opening and closing of each electronic auction at least three days before its start;
  2. Indication, in the respective website, of the place and time in which the products can be examined, when applicable;
  3. The offers, after being entered in the system, cannot be withdrawn;
  4. Disclosure of the result of the electronic auction on the website, indicating the value for which the merchandise was granted, clearly and unequivocally;
  5. Proof of the identity of the auction participants through a secure authentication, that is, the National Identity Document or a mobile digital key.