TIMES: THEY AREN'T A CHANGING...THEY'VE CHANGED

by Deb Weidenhamer

You can read a book, listen to a cassette tape and browse the Internet everyday and still have no idea what changes in the wide world web have rocked the auction industry. Tom Peters, author of In Search of Excellence said in a recent talk with entrepreneurs, "The Internet is just like a dog, one year in real time is equal to 7 years in Internet time. The only way to keep up with the changes is for a company to have a web presence and a way to service customers on the web, if your company can't keep up with the Internet, then you should give up!"

These powerful words from one of our nation's leading business analysts apply more to the auction community than any other industry in existence. If you are skeptical just look at the impact that ebay.com has had on the economy both in its stock prices, but more importantly in its impact on the ability for an individual or a company to auction products directly to end users. The dollar volume exchanged daily on Internet auctions exceeds the annual revenue of Coca-Cola. And ebay.com is not the only Internet auction - there are over 14,000 Internet auctions on the web.

The general public in an overwhelming way has incorporated the word "auction" into their everyday language, for which as an industry we should be grateful. This exposure is invaluable for our industry but does raise the technical standards that an auction company must be able to provide for savvy auction customers.

Auction companies can no longer survive with snail mail, (a common Internet term for mail sent through the post office) newsletters and DOS based auction management software. Unless you are notifying buyers about auctions using email, directing people to your website for upcoming auction information and operating a fast and effective software system, you will be left in the dust of your more technically gifted competitors.

Your first step is to get an email account and there are several services that will provide you with free email, including yahoo.com, tripod.com and skybiz.com. After you have your email set up then you need a website. It isn't important to have a fancy interactive website to start, you just need a website that provides general information about your company, upcoming events and information on how you can be contacted.

What has held back many companies from a website is the cost and hassle of hiring a web site developer to create the site, then registering a domain name, paying for a server to host your site and providing maintenance for the site including the file transfer protocol (ftp) updates. This process often costs between $2,000 and $3,000. However there are ways around this including companies that are offering a hosted 15mb website for $110 - which is enough space for about 50 - 70 pages. Also included is a web address and easy-to-use software that lets you build your own site in less than an hour and you don't have to know anything about programming. The best part is that when you want to make a change, all you need to do is press one button and your website is changed.

Most importantly from the moment you have a website make sure you put your web address on every piece of literature and advertisement put out by your company. Just as you would think twice about conducting business with someone that didn't have a business card, the website now has the same impact. It is easier then ever to have a web presence and move your company forward with the wide world web.

Next month we will review the changes in auction management software including both traditional software packages and Internet auction software. If you have found any exceptional technological tools for the auction business, please email me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .