gNumber, Inc., a provider of real-time e-commerce mobile services, today launched its new mobile bidding service - UnWired Buyer for eBay. UnWired Buyer is a secure, "simple" solution that allows users to bid on eBay listings during the last minutes of the bidding process using any mobile phone. What remains to be seen is if users take to this service.

The service works by placing a phone call to the user to update him or her with critical listing details, such as the current high bid, and allows the user to place new bids on items using UnWired Buyer's custom interactive voice response system. UnWired Buyer's service is free to eBay members.

A certified eBay Compatible Application, UnWired Buyer is free and allows bidders to participate in online bidding activities, reducing the dependence on the PC as the bidding terminal. According to a company statement, the custom voice interface allows fast communication of changes in bid status, enabling users to complete bids in the final seconds of the auction-style listing when they are away from their PC, but in reach of their mobile phone.

"With UnWired Buyer, eBay users will be able to bid on items down to the last minute, regardless of their location," said Indraj (Indy) Gill, CEO of gNumber, Inc. "We believe that our free service will grow the e-commerce eco-system, providing consumers with freedom from their PCs and e-commerce vendors a larger pool of users."

Today eBay has more than 157 million registered users. At any given time, there are approximately 55 million items available on eBay worldwide, and approximately 5 million items are added per day. eBay users trade in more than 50,000 categories. UnWired Buyer for eBay enables listing monitoring and bidding on items using any mobile phone, helping more eBay users close more bids successfully [over 50 percent of eBay users miss the final minutes of the bidding process because they can't be at their PC, according to gNumber company research conducted in July 2005].

"Connecting with consumers through new distribution channels is a powerful way for any business to increase its bottom line," said Tim Bajarin, senior analyst and president of Creative Strategies. "Around a quarter of all mobile phone subscribers in the U.S. tap wireless data services while voice functionality is the core and most utilized capability of the mobile phone. By leveraging a delivery method as ubiquitous as the voice channel, e-commerce vendors such as eBay, will be able to reach a larger audience helping to grow business."

How it works
To use UnWired Buyer, consumers can register at www.unwiredbuyer.com. Items they are currently bidding on, and items on their "eBay watch list," are then automatically populated over to their secure UnWired Buyer control panel, where users can view status and opt out of calls if they are no longer interested in specific items.

Three minutes before a listing closes, UnWired Buyer calls the user's mobile phone providing them with the listing status and the opportunity to bid. Information such as price, bid amount, and time remaining are updated and relayed to the user in real-time. The bidding state allows users to quickly enter a bid, or update their maximum bid, with real-time confirmations. Using the custom interactive voice response system menu users can bid anytime during the remaining minutes or seconds of an auction open listing by simply entering and confirming bids using the number pad on their phone. Users will be notified immediately when the listing ends and will then be instructed to complete the financial transaction through their eBay or PayPal account.

Devin Comiskey is the Managing Editor of ECommerce-Guide.com.