Internet auction has gained tremendous popularity since its inception in 1995. As a new
type of economic exchange mechanism in the electronic commerce, it has caught immense
attention from both mass media and academy. An online survey conducted by
Nielsen//NetRatings and Harris Interactive eCommercePulse shows that by May of 2001,
Internet auction revenue claimed a 10 percent stake of overall Internet spending, over 6.2
million Internet users bought at Internet auctions with a total spending of US$556 million in
May 20011. The popular press has estimated consumer-to-consumer (C2C) online auction
revenue at more than US$15 billion in 2004 (Lake 2000).