Feds Decide That Their Own eBay Needs More Publicity
from the do-they-use-escrow? dept
In 2001, we first wrote about the government's plan to set up their very own online auction site to sell off various things they've seized (helicopters, diamonds, etc... you know, the regular stuff). Apparently sick of all that auction attention going to eBay, they're now trying to boost the profile of their online auction offering, which someone from eBay claims they never even knew about (they should read Techdirt more often...). Of course, they also point out that local governments have just started using eBay itself as a platform for online auctions, making you wonder why the government should spend IT resources on building their own -- especially when it's unlikely to reach anywhere near the same number of potential buyers as eBay? Now, how long until a Silicon Valley politician introduces legislation that would ban the government from doing this while claiming it competes with private businesses?Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
What is the Government Auction Site?
Then I followed the link to the baltimore sun, but I didn't feel like creating a log in account with them, so I couldn't see what they had to say.
I still don't know what the US Government auction site might be, and haven't gone searching for the answer in a search engine.
If the government only uses ebay, then they are in effect subsidizing ebay. If no one knows about the auctions then the government might not be getting the value for the goods.
Is there a good real time search engine of auction sites? I just did a quick search and found the government site, but didn't find a good auction search engine.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Re: What is the Government Auction Site?
And don't think I'm trying to line Uncle Sam's pockets with a /. plug; we don't see a dime of any of the money collected from these auctions, or at least not directly.
[ link to this | view in thread ]