Lycos Inc. Wednesday launched an auction site
specifically geared toward the needs of small businesses.
Lycos Small Business
Auctions is an expansion of the company’s existing person-to-person
e-commerce auctions offerings.
According to Mark Stoever, vice president of search and emerging
destinations for Lycos, the site meets the needs of a growing segment.
“Studies show that nearly 1 million small businesses plan to
participate in online
auctions this year, and our open auction environment can provide small
businesses with access to a huge range of products and connects buyers and
sellers rapidly in an inherently efficient manner,” he said.
The site debuted with thousands of listings in several categories
including business machines, Web services, computing hardware and software
and equipment and supplies.
To use the site, business people enter individual bids and
specify acceptable quantities. An automated bidding feature allows a
user to set a maximum bid price and the software will continue to enter the
lowest possible winning bid until the user wins or has reached the specified
maximum.
Participants may view an auction’s bid history online at
any time to determine if they are winning or losing. Bidders receive e-mail
notifications of their bid status. Additionally, an “auction agent” is
incorporated into the site to notify users when
specially-requested products become available.
FairMarket , a provider of auction technology and services, helped to
develop the site.
“As part of the FairMarket Inc. Small Business Auction
Network, Lycos integrates listings from business sellers to provide
corporate buyers with a rich purchasing environment,” said Stoever.
