online auction

Similar to a real-life auction in which property or merchandise are sold to the highest bidder, an online auction takes place via a Web site, usually offering items for sale by the individual who owns them (C2C).

There are also B2B auctions, B2C auctions, C2C auctions, and reverse auctions.

Historical perspective: Known as the world's largest online marketplace, eBay is a company with an online auction site that enables people to buy and sell goods and services on a local, national, and international basis. In 1995, computer programmer Pierre Omidyar auctioned off a broken laser printer on his Web site for $14.83 (the buyer was a collector of broken laser pointers). Within two years, Omidyar registered eBay.com. In the year 2000, the eBay community transacted more than $5 billion in annualized gross merchandise sales, and, eBay has actually spawned a large number of people who have turned their part-time passions into full-time, well-paying jobs, simply by selling their goods online.

By 2018, Facebook was in the news for an online auction that took place on their social media site: A father is South Sudan auctioned his 16-year-old daughter for 500 cows, three cars, and $10,000 from the groom :(