I am looking for an example of an auction system for relatively cheap
second hand goods in which the buyer can see/feel/smell etc the goods
before buying which is executed in as inexpensive a fashion as
possible (maybe supported by an IT solution). So not with a room of
buyers waiting for an auctioneer to get around to the article they
find interesting.

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Clarification of Question by ansgarjohn-ga on 15 Mar 2004 00:42 PST

Hi Politicalguru,
Thanks for your idea. What I came up with is a Dutch auction, whereby
articles receive a price tag when they are brought in. Every day the
price goes down with a certain percentage of the original price.
Example: tuesday 10, wednesday 8, thursday 6, friday 4, saturday 2,
monday FREE. When somebody who is visiting the shop sees an article
they like and the price on that day is ok, they bring it to the
cashdesk and buy it. Money is then transferred to the credit card or
bank account of the seller.
What do you think?

Dear John, 

Though I have no example for you - I have an idea. The same old
offline concept of an auction, however, - for each item, an exact time
for the beginning of th eauction would be set, if necessary (because
the previous item did not finish) - on a separate stage.