Visual Auction is the most flexible package we''ve seen when it comes to providing specific auction types: English, Dutch, Yankee, and Vickrey. An English auction is the most common in the online-auction world: the seller announces a reserve price or low opening bid, and the high bidder at the end of the process wins. A Vickrey auction solicits secret bids. The winning bid is awarded to the high bidder, but the price is the same as the second-highest bid (or the highest unsuccessful bid) in the case of multiple winning bids. (This type of auction is thought to loosen up bidders, since no one can win with a bid that''s way above the second highest bid, thus eliminating "winner''s curse.") A Dutch auction is used to auction multiple items, with all winning bidders paying the same as the lowest winning bid. A Yankee auction is where multiple items are offered for sale, and everyone pays their actual bid price.

The back-end Auction Administrator controls all aspects of how auctions are run. You can change the defaults of almost every setting, including bidding increments (percentage or sliding scale), auction durations, categories, subcategories, and more.

The most limiting factor to Visual Auction is its reliance on Cold Fusion and Windows NT. Cold Fusion is an application server that (for now) runs on Windows NT, although there are UNIX and Linux versions in beta testing. On the whole, Cold Fusion is an efficient application server, but owning it is an expense above and beyond the cost of ownership of the auction server itself. Unlike many auction packages, almost everything in Visual Auction 3.0 is HTML or CFML (Cold Fusion Markup Language) based. For instance, when you enter the data for headers, footers, and banner codes, you enter it in HTML or CFML formatting, as opposed to straight text.

There are some pluses to using an application server as a back end, however. The database support in Visual Auction is excellent: the package ships with a Microsoft Access database, but it can be configured to use SQL Server or Oracle as the back-end database.

The accounting capabilities go down to a level where you can track each user''s balance, as well as monitor when payments have been made; if a user is out of line or isn''t paying their bills, you can disable their account. There''s also remote IP logging, where the system logs the IP addresses of sellers, bidders, and feedback users. The Visual Auction system keeps track of lowest bid, current bid, number of bids, auction starting date, auction ending date, item location, sellers'' e-mail address, and more.

The system supports several billing methods: a direct bill to the user, a withdrawal from a debit card, and straight credit-card billing. However, you''ll need to set up your own merchant account and relationship with a credit-card-billing firm (such as CyberCash) to take advantage of this capability.

Visual Auction also supports Link Exchange banners, which can be set up from within the administrator package.

Many aspects of Visual Auction are designed to run automatically. For instance, once you''ve set up your product listings, there should be automated buying and selling without the need for any human intervention. Users are able to automatically register themselves, with the system sending out passwords to new users via e-mail. When an auction has ended, the system automatically notifies bidders and sellers.

There are several options when setting up an auction. You can run your own auction or open up the auction to outside sellers. If so, you can generate revenue by billing outside sellers for featured auctions (main or within category) or for a second category listing. Items can be rated in terms of interest (to show whether items are new or hot), and pictures and sound files can be attached to a listing. A search engine provides complete search capabilities on many criteria, including title, item number, e-mail address of seller description, or area.

Visual Auction also supports proxy bidding, where the bidder specifies a maximum bid, and the system enters new high bids in response to other bids until that maximum is reached.

Overall
With support for a broad range of auction formats, Visual Auction is one of the most flexible auction packages we''ve seen. But our enthusiasm for it is tempered by its reliance on Cold Fusion and Windows NT - and you''ll need to make a commitment to both technologies if you want Visual Commerce.

Pros: Support for a wide range of auction formats; can be integrated with payment systems; good back-end tools.

Cons: Relies on Cold Fusion and Windows NT.

Web sites using Visual Auction:ecom.com, CVEL.com