Auction Universe
on of the most promising new entrants into the general consumer auction business was auction universe. Times mirror, the parent company fo the los Angeles times newspaper Auction universe in 1997 and and then sold it in 1998 to a partnership if eight major newspaper companies (including times mirror itself) called Classified Ventures. These companies were concerned that classified advertising on the Wed posed a threat to their newspaper classified advertisng, which is one of the most profitable elements in the newspaper business. Through their classified Ventures partnership, these newapaper companis started their own Web sites for classified ads such as Aparments.com,cars.com,and NewHomework.com. These sites earn revenue by charging for running ads, selling advertising on their pages, or both. Classified Ventures believed that the Auction Universe site could become an important and profitable part of its Web presence.