In an intriguing change of strategy, eBay
Inc. Wednesday reversed course by
inking a licensing pact with auction search site AuctionRover.com.
The agreement allows bidders using AuctionRover.com to easily search
through and connect with auctions on eBay (EBAY), rounding out AuctionRover.com’s extensive services for both bidders and sellers of auction items, providing them with
a centralized location to complete their online auction activities.
AuctionRover.com features Rocket Rover — an advanced, proprietary
cross-auction search engine, which provides a comprehensive index of more
than 30 leading online auction sites.
Bidders can search more than 850 online auction sites. They can be
notified about new items, monitor items of interest, and participate on
several different auction sites simultaneously.
AuctionRover.com also features a price trending service which enables buyers and sellers to view bid volumes and price
histories of more than 350 popular auction items. AuctionRover.com has
redesigned the cross-auction “fetch” search feature of its site to provide
access to complete eBay search results.
The deal could prove to be the match that ignites the fire between eBay and
AuctionWatch. In November the
leading online auctioneer said it would block AuctionWatch’s access,
contending that such search services slow down volume on its site and
provides incomplete or inaccurate information. Currently, eBay programs its
servers to ignore requests for information received from addresses used by
AuctionWatch.
“Online auction users have been demanding a single source for their auction
searches and now AuctionRover.com provides them with that source,” said
Michael Miller, author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Online
Auctions and president and founder of The Molehill Group, a strategic
consulting and authoring firm.
“By offering the only licensed search of eBay and other auction sites,
AuctionRover.com will fast become the search site of choice for serious
auction buyers and sellers.”
internet.com
Corp., which publishes this Web site, is an investor in AuctionRover.com.
