If the term "auction" is entered into a search engine such as Google or Yahoo, hundreds of sites return to the searcher's screen. This section of "Online Auction Legal Issues" will cover auctions occurring Online between businesses and their consumers

Business to Consumer (B2C), or or retail e-commerce auctions, applies to any business or organization that sells its products or services to consumers over the Internet for their own use. Auctions in the business sector have been around for hundreds of years. However, until recently there has never been an easy way to participate in these activities.

Through the use of the internet thousands of companies are moving online to give consumers the ability to participate in their own fluid market place. B2C Auctions are currenlty growing and this figure is expected to rise. Forrester Research predicts that B2C e-commerce in the United States will grow from $38.8 billion in 2000 to $184.5 billion in 2004. From this amount, Forrester estimates that by 2006, auctions will make up 25 percent of all online B2C transactions.