News & Auction Sites (Edexcel IGCSE ICT): Revision Note

News & auction sites

What is a news site?

• A news site gives up to date access to stories as they break

• Notifications are used to alert subscribers

• A subscriber can choose what notifications to receive, based on preferences or categories

• News sites can also provide information on:

  • Weather

  • Sports

  • Stock markets

  • Currency values

What is an auction site?

• An auction site allows a user to list an item for sale and accept bids until a predetermined deadline

• The user with the highest bid at the deadline wins the auction

• Auction sites use a rating system for both buyers and sellers

• Buyers with higher ratings are considered trustworthy and fast payers

• Sellers can choose to only accept bids from buyers with a high rating

• Sellers with a higher rating are considered reliable and post items promptly

• Buyers can choose to only view items for auction from high rated sellers

• Extra features used by auction sites include:

  • Reserve prices - sets a minimum a seller will accept

  • Buy it now - sets a price the seller would accept to end the auction early

  • Notifications - notify buyers when they are outbid and remind buyers of auctions that are due to end