A Study On Online Auctions

Online auction is an important part of e-commerce, and has been the focus of many scientific researches. The thesis begins with the introduction of basic concepts together with the benchmark model and its analysis in traditional auction theory. At the same time the optimal auction is discussed, and the hotspot and emphasis of the future research is discussed, mainly on multi-item auction and double auction. The traditional auction theory is available in abundance, which has provided a basis for the development of online auctions. Then the thesis begins to introduce online auctions, including their feasibility and success, mechanisms, characteristics compared with those of traditional auctions and their development tread. Next the study on online auctions in the thesis is mainly quantitative, and is divided into the following steps. First, the practice of online auctions is introduced and analyzed, with its emphasis on its distinction between and association with traditional auctions. Second, based on the reservation of airline tickets in Priceline.com and after some assumptions and descriptions of buyers, sellers and transaction rules, the models for buyers and sells are given separately, and the analysis of how to maximize expected utility for buyers and how to maximize expected gain for sells is discussed. Finally, both the models are analyzed, especially in the model for buyers. A theorem is proved: the more the valuation of a buyer is, the more his bid will be, and numerical results are obtained through the application of genetic algorithm.