eBay is taking another shot at live auctions

eBay is taking a second swing at letting its users bid on items sold at live auction houses. A number of New York galleries will open their auctions to eBay’s 149 million members, allowing users to bid on and purchase oil paintings, etchings, jewelry, antique furniture and other items from their desktop computers. The first auction, of African-American art, will take place Thursday at Swann Auction Galleries in New York. The event features a carved wooden head expected to sell for as much as $180,000, as well as a lithograph representation of the Nile river estimated at a more modest $1,000 to $1,500. Among the others who will open desktop bidding to eBay users are Doyle New York, Garth’s Auctions and Freeman’s, said Gene Cook, general manager of emerging verticals for eBay. “This is an opportunity to open up the auction process to a much broader group of buyers,” said Cook. “And we think we’ve been able to replicate the live auction process for your computer.”