Internet Auction Bargains Are Going Going, Gone!

Millions want to buy, with demand outstripping supply, says new loot.com survey

Online auctions are becoming a new phenomenon across the UK, but thousands of online consumers may be missing out on bargains because there aren't enough people confident in using the Internet to sell. A survey launched today by loot.com (www.loot.com), the online auction and classifieds site and MORI, reveals that although online shopping is already popular amongst Internet users, millions of online bargain hunters could end up disappointed because UK online auction sites risk running out of things to sell.

The research found that whilst over half of users surveyed (54%) were keen to trade-unions online, only 18% of those who often sell second hand items were willing to put their possessions up for sale on the Internet. The most popular reasons for this reticence were given as fear of fraud and the expense of being online.

With the imminent advent of Internet access via television, this problem seems set to grow. The research found that one in seven respondents would be more likely to access the Internet if they could use their TV. One in 12 of those surveyed said they would be more likely to access the Internet if they could do so through their TV because they found it less intimidating and the same proportion stated that they would prefer to use the Internet via their televisions because it was something they could do as a family.

Graham Tolhurst, managing director of loot.com warned that users need to feel more confident about all aspects of online transactions, and to feel that web sites are looking after their interests, especially important as the Internet becomes a popular part of family life.

He said: "The US online auction market has seen huge growth over the past 12 months and the indications are, as we have found from our own online auctions, that the UK is catching on fast to this phenomenon. This trend and the fact that the British are a nation of bargain hunters seems to have fuelled the interest of UK Internet users, but it is apparent that many people are still unsure of Internet auctions.

What people are looking for are websites that offer a straightforward service they can trust. loot.com believes the entire online community has a responsibility to act ethically and reassure the public. This issue of Internet ethics is something loot.com feels very strongly about."

Graham continued: "We realise that there are still people out there who are reluctant to use the PC and this is backed up by the findings of our research. At loot.com, we believe that access through television, the next revolution in Internet distribution, will provide a familiar and reassuring method of access and that the quicker there are alternatives to the computer, the more people will get onto the World Wide Web.

The loot.com web site gets more than 300,000 visitors per day looking for bargains totalling 163350 million.

Other key findings from the research include:

• One in six of Internet users have bought or sold at a car boot sale in the last three months. Half of these cite fraud as the main reason for not selling online.
• One in ten non-Internet users(11 %) gave being too old as the main reason for not using the Internet
• 28% cited cost as the main reason of not being on the Internet
• 18% would buy on the Internet if friends recommended, if they could be sure to make money, and if they could see visible savings.

About loot.com loot.com (www.loot.com) was launched in 1996 and is the online sister publication of the UK's number one free ads newspaper, LOOT. Over 300,000 ads every week in over 400 classifications are posted on the site which also offers personalised email updates, and chat room facilities to discuss bargains and ideas with other online shoppers. loot.com was the first UK site to offer online auctions and is the only UK site which offers this facility completely free of charge.

All adverts from LOOT's paper, the world's largest A to Z of PAPER classified advertisements, also appear in the online version. In addition, Internet users can post adverts online. All adverts are subject to an ethical editorial policy which aims to ensure that all content is legal, decent, honest and truthful. Each advert is individually hand typed to ensure the integrity of the advertisement.

loot.com has won numerous awards, including the 1999 New Media Age Effectiveness Awards for Best Consumer Publisher on the Web, the Rubicon Award for innovation and design in April 1999, and the PPA Magazine in May 1998.

loot.com has 9.5 million page impressions per month (ABC//electronic audit, July 1999).

Technical details

MORI spoke to a nationally representative quota sample of 1979 individuals. They were interviewed by MORI/Field and Tab across 160 constituency-based sampling points. Interviews were carried out using CAPI (Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing) face-to-face in respondents homes between 10 - 13 September. Data has been weighted to reflect the national profile.