RIP Fixed Pricing: The Internet Is on Its Way to "Marketizing" Everything: INTERNET BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS AUCTIONS FOSTER TRANSPARENCY AND EFFICIENCY

The Internet has made business-to-business auction-based transactions a new force in markets. The result is to force some markets to be much more competitive, punishing firms that heretofore had been able to rely on imperfect information to mitigate inability to compete on cost and quality. It has also created a new type of Internet-based intermediary firm to set up auctions, qualify participants, and conduct the auctions. This article describes how seller-bidding reverse auctions are conducted, illustrates the cost savings that are possible for buyers, and discusses the implications of this new type of commerce.