auctions

eBay is continuing to press into markets beyond its original model of running an auction house and global garage sale. And I don't mean it's buying more companies with inexplicable connections to commerce, like Skype. Instead, the company is working on highly targeted apps designed to hook new users into the eBay ecosystem.

The first of these is already out: The iPhone app for eBay Fashion. It's a little subset of eBay, focusing on apparel. It has some special sauce, like a "closet" feature that lets you drop images of clothes you're interested in … Read more

eBay is pulling $200 million out of its wallet for brands4friends, a fashion daily-deals site based in Berlin.

The acquisition, announced today, is designed to build up the auction site's reputation as a source for clothing, shoes, and accessories among European buyers.

As Germany's largest online shopping club, brands4friends offers daily deals to site subscribers and features about 600 brands, including Buffalo, Calvin Klein, and Diesel.

Daily-deals sites have taken off among consumers and now add up to around 20 percent of all online fashion sales in Europe, according to eBay. Launched in 2007, brands4friends has about 3.… Read more

eBay said yesterday that it has bought Critical Path Software, a mobile-app developer that had already been working with the auction site for the past couple of years.

Helping to design several eBay mobile apps, Portland, Ore.-based Critical Path has partnered with eBay's mobile group to create eBay for the iPhone and eBay Classifieds. Critical Path and eBay also teamed up to develop StubHub, a ticket-buying app, and Shopping.com, a shopping comparison app.

The acquisition is part of eBay's move to focus even further on the growing mobile market. The auction site has also been busy … Read more

You have a chance to bid on the first production Volt available to the masses. General Motors has put the first Volt off the assembly line up for auction. The electric vehicle, with extended range, will have a MSRP of $41,000.

The car up for auction has a Viridian Joule exterior, light neutral interior with dark accents and loads of extras, including the premium trim package, rear camera and park assist package, and polished wheels. The auction also includes a 240-volt charging station and home installation (a $1,500 value).

How to bid for the car is as easy … Read more

eBay has won the latest and seemingly last round in a lawsuit filed by jewelery maker Tiffany over alleged trademark infringement.

The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday refused to hear an appeal filed by Tiffany over a 2008 court decision that found in favor of eBay in a trademark infringement lawsuit.

Initially filed in 2004, the suit from Tiffany alleged that eBay should be held liable for any trademark infringement from the sale of phony goods on the auction site. But in a July 2008 ruling, a U.S. District Court found that trademark law could not be used to … Read more

Talk about a smart tech buy. An Apple computer purchased more than 30 years ago has sold for 425 times its original selling price.

An Apple-1, one of only about 200 such machines built in Apple co-founder Steve Jobs' parents' garage, sold at Christie's auction house in London today for 133,250 pounds (about $210,700). The Apple-1, which didn't include a casing, power supply, keyboard, or monitor, originally retailed for $666.66 in 1976. Apple discontinued the model in 1977.

Christie's called the computer a "historic relic" and said the auction included all the … Read more

If you're a gadget geek with some spare change--make that a lot of spare change--here's a golden opportunity to indulge. Later this month the first Apple computer--including a letter signed by none other than Apple co-founder CEO Steve Jobs to the original owner--will go on sale at a famous London auction house.

The Christie's brochure describes the computer as a "historic relic," and judging by current technological standards, I suppose that's an accurate description. Just in case you can't remember, the Apple-1, introduced in 1976, came without a casing, power supply, keyboard, or … Read more

eBay is getting ready for the holidays with a new take on its home page and a new shared gift-giving feature.

The auction site refreshed its home page yesterday with the goal of helping people find and buy items more quickly and easily. The redesign, which eBay said was months in the making, offers a different look and feel to the home page as well as several behind-the-scenes changes.

eBay's search functionality is trying to be smarter by pushing the exact product you're seeking to the top of the results. You can also now find an item by … Read more

Sex.com sells--for $13 million, that is.

Placed on the auction block in July, the potentially valuable domain name has been scooped up by Clover Holdings from Escom for a cool $13 million. Escom put Sex.com up for sale after declaring bankruptcy earlier this year.

Though it swooped in with the winning bid, Clover can't officially claim ownership until the sale is approved by the bankruptcy court overseeing Escom. This is expected to happen on Wednesday. Not much is known about Sex.com's new owner. BBC News describes it as an obscure company registered on the Caribbean … Read more