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For many people, auctions conjure up images of a fast-talking country bumpkin getting the highest price for a tractor in a Kansas barnyard. Or perhaps a high society Sotheby’s auction of celebrity beach towels. The ‘Net has brought the online auction to a state of prominence, where savvy consumers can get great deals on all sorts of products. Travel is no exception. Travelbids introduced a revolutionary type of auction, the reverse auction, in 1996. In a conventional auction, a product or service is put on the bidding block and buyers place bids; the

highest bidder buys the item. In a reverse auction, the consumer names the product that he or she wants to purchase, and sellers compete to provide the lowest price. A very clever idea, and one that could work well for travel packages, plane tickets and just about any other travel product when the climate for commerce on the ‘Net improves. Check out some of the recent deals from Travelbids. The percentage listed is the amount the product will be discounted from the asking price when the auction closes. Cathay Pacific Airways is the first major airline to experiment with cyber-auctions. Check out their site to see the range of deals available for many routes to Asia. Another good spot for getting deals on travel products is the TravelClearingHouse and Going Going Gone. These are conventional style auctions, but you can sign up to be notified of the latest deals available. Travelfacts also has decent travel auctions that often sell products at low prices. Auction-Travel specializes in auctioning off vacation packages, but you can also find the occasional airline ticket or timeshare. Speaking of timeshares, TRI Internet Auction Page deals almost exclusively with auctions of timeshares. The field of online auction houses that deal with travel is quite small at the moment. But look for this to be an area of rapid expansion in the near future as electronic commerce expands and consumers and sellers become more comfortable conducting business over the ‘Net.