Read the reviews then bid

by Jenny C. McCune

   The chances that auctions are a passing online fad are going, going, gone.
   Yesterday, CNET, a major provider of technology content, became the latest major web player to add auctions to its offerings. CNET surfers will soon be able to read up on a particular piece of technogear and then bid on it without leaving the site.
   The move broadens the appeal of CNET as a web site and introduces the internet to the potential of vertical auction sites.
   CNET is hoping that adding the auctions will generate revenue, boost web site traffic, reinforce the CNET brandname, and increase the main site's attractiveness to advertisers--all in one stroke. CNET believes its strength as a provider of technology content will draw web surfers away from the more general, larger auction sites, such as eBay and Amazon.com, even though they too offer technology.
   Analysts like the idea. "Linking content to the action is a very smart move," says Tim Bajarin of Creative Strategies Inc. of San Jose. "Most high-tech auctions are very product-specific but expect the user to know what they want. However, if they link content on recommendations and potential usage examples to the auctions themselves, they could find that they could carve out a segment of this market that would be successful."
   CNET's goal is to establish itself as a site that's ``all technology all the time.''
   "CNET Auctions will be an enormous open marketplace for technology products--with people selling everything from ancient Macs and old cables to the newest Palm Pilots," promises Kevin McKenzie, CNET's associate vice president of shopping services. "As long as what you're selling is technology related, it's welcome at CNET Auctions."
   CNET is tapping into a hot market. Last year computer hardware and software accounted for 69 percent of the internet auction economy, reports Keenan Vision Research, a San Francisco-based internet market research firm. Jupiter Communications reports that some 24 percent of online consumers are likely to purchase PC hardware in the next 12 months in online auctions, while another 21 percent are likely to purchase software.
   CNET prepared for the launch of its auction site by recently purchasing Auction Gate Interactive of Irvine, California to handle the bidding.