December 16, 2002

Contact: Sarah Ray

802-443-5794

sray@middlebury.edu

Posted: October 10, 2002

MIDDLEBURY,

VT -Marla Weinstein, a native of Birmingham,

Ala., and a senior economics major at Middlebury College, has focused

her thesis research on online auctions as a fundraising strategy for charities.

With financial assistance from College funds that support such student

research, Weinstein has a goal?to determine if there is a type of auction

that is most profitable for charities to use in their fundraising efforts.

She has organized three auctions, each of which has different bidding

rules. All proceeds from the auctions, which are located at the Web site

www.acsauction.com, will be donated

to the American Cancer Society.

The first auction took place Dec. 1-7 and raised

over $1,000. It also elicited 60 bids from around the country, including

a winning bid from a resident of St. Paul, Minn. The second will take

place Dec. 29-Jan. 4, and the third and final auction will run from Jan.

5-11. Items available in the remaining auctions include a weekend getaway

for two at the Mountain Top Inn and Resort near Killington, a Sugarbush

Escape Pass, and an MP3 player.

In the first auction, items were allocated to the

highest bidder who paid his bid, as in a traditional auction. In the second

auction, the highest bidder will also win but he will pay the amount of

the second highest bid. According to Weinstein, this arrangement is meant

to simulate a live auction that often ends when the second highest bidder

drops out and the winner pays slightly more than the second highest bid.

In the last auction, items will go to the highest bidder, but every bidder

must pay his bid regardless of whether he is the winner. This auction

is similar to a lottery in the sense that all participants pay for a ticket

but the chances of winning depend on how much the bidder pays.

Weinstein, and her thesis advisor, Middlebury College

Assistant Professor of Economics Jeffrey Carpenter, have worked collaboratively

on several projects over the past two years, but, according to Weinstein,

both are particularly excited about this latest investigation.

For more information, contact auction organizers

Marla Weinstein at mweinste@middlebury.edu

or Jeffery Carpenter at jcarpent@middlebury.edu,

or contact the Middlebury College Department of Economics at (802) 443-5327.