Morgan set to go live with Website

End of line PC specialist Morgan Computer Company has become the latest player to launch an online auction site for the sale of hardware.

Morgan's service goes live on 1 December. Bidders will be able to email the maximum amount they wish to pay and a robot auctioneer will then bid for them. If the lot goes above their maximum the service emails the bidder to find out if they want to increase their bid.

Tom Willett, sales director at Morgan, said the reseller had currently signed up more than 200 bidders. He said: 'It is different from the run of the mill sites which just look like paper catalogues'.

Willett said the initial target would be the 40,000 existing Morgan customers.

The other major player in this market is Quixell, whose site goes live this week. It sells both its own stock and third-party hardware. It works in a similar way and has been testing the response since mid October.

It offers guarantees and technical support in the same way as traditional dealers. Kit can be delivered to most addresses in the UK for #2.95 plus VAT.

Tim Jackson, co-founder of Quixell, said the company offered a quick, cheap and discrete way for the channel to get rid of excess or refurbished stock. He claimed auctions were a better way to clear inventory than having it in store detracting sales from higher margin products.

Products will come from both trade and private sources. But only those from trade vendors are guaranteed.

Sites like Onsale.com in the US are gaining a good reputation for service and price.