The FINANCIAL — Turnover of the Georgian web portal eauction.ge amounted to GEL 71 million during the first two quarters of 2013. This reduction in turnover is the result of decreased numbers of auction announcements this year. Electric vehicles are the bestselling products at eauction.ge. The website’s lower prices is one of the main advantages by which it manages to compete with private online shopping websites.
The most expensive product sold in 2013 via eauction.ge was a plot of non-agricultural land with building to the amount of GEL 4,350,000.
“Since the service agency expanded its shopping facilities network over the whole country, state-owned property has been distributed among merchants. Wholesale and retail customers can buy desired goods in stores immediately. This in turn has led to a decrease in auction announcements and increased number of merchants,” Shota Gelantia, Head of the Marketing Department at the Service Agency at the Ministry of Finance of Georgia, told The FINANCIAL.
Founded in 2010, eauction.ge was the first online auction portal in the entire Caucasus region. The website currently includes both private and public sector transactions. For two years, state-owned immovable / movable property sales have been carried out electronically via eauction.ge. In addition, the site was created by the service agency of the Ministry of Finance and the analytical department of the Ministry of Finance which guarantees the safety and security of its system. In Gelantia’s words, users of eauction.ge are protected from illegal transactions, bureaucratic procedures and payment-related difficulties.
In 2010 the turnover of the portal was GEL 908,586, in 2011 – GEL 222,002,032, and in 2012 – GEL 224,422,343.
Since the creation of the website the number of its users has been increasing steadily. There are currently 37,814 users registered on eauction.ge. Out of the total number of registered users 34,872 are private individuals while 2,942 are corporate entities. Both residents of the country and non-residents are users of the site.
There are 20 categories and 103 subcategories on the website. Out of them the top five categories are as follows: other (20%), electro appliances and equipment (16%), transport (12%), rent (11%) and land (10%).
The number of the site’s visitors in 2010 was 198,952, in 2011 – 1,936,638, in 2012 – 2,355,637, and during the seven months of 2013 so far – 1,130,334. The number of users currently registered on the website is 37,814, up from 21,776, which was the number during the same period of the previous year. A significant increase of users began in 2012 when users were allowed not only to buy but also to sell products via online auction.
In 2012 the new system and website of eauction.ge was launched. Renovated applications for smartphones and Androids will be available soon.
Gelantia says that many foreigners are involved in internet auctions via the website. “1,055 auctions have been won by non-residents registered on our site; 751 lots have been purchased by non-resident individuals,” he said.
“Vehicles, building structures, installations and electrical equipment are the products that are traded the most frequently by non-residents. The total value of all the auctions won by non-resident individuals and corporate clients amounts to GEL 62,986,478,” said Gelantia.
The lower prices and variety of services made available by the site were underlined by Gelantia as the main advantages of eauction compared to its competitors. “The prices at eauction are lower than on other online shopping sites. Three types of purchase and sale are available to customers: internet auction, internet shop and public auction.”
Internet transactions continue to increase in Georgia. During the first half of 2013 such transactions amounted to 4,660,173 units, with total value of GEL 187,919,000. During the same period of the previous year their number reached 3,357,770 units, with total value of GEL 162,560,000.
An updated online shop, new payment facilities. including via pay boxes, electronic instalment, nationwide delivery service, as well as applications for Ipad and Android, will soon be available to the users of eauction.ge.
“A new feature called ‘Buy it Now’ will also soon be added to the website. This will allow users to purchase items put on auction directly just by agreeing to a proposed price,” Gelantia told The FINANCIAL.
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