Abstract:

Internet auctions are described as virtual marketplaces relying on Internet services, such as the World Wide Web and Internet protocols to conduct auctions. Some of their inherent advantages are their access to a larger pool of potential suppliers and buyers, the removal of both time and space constraints, the increase of information availability and the decrease in transaction costs. Nowadays, the internet auction model has become one of the most lucrative e-business strategies, enabling potential online consumers to name the price they are willing to pay for a product, aside from making purchases through conventional fixed-price channels. The scope of this paper is to examine critical factors regarding bidders’ behavior and perceptions in Internet auctions in order to determine specific segments of respondents with common features. Thus, demographics, consumers’ perceptions and seller-controlled factors have been examined through a research in 88 undergraduate and postgraduate students of Greek computer science departments. Descriptive statistics as well as Multiple Correspondence Analysis are used to present comparative statistical data.