E-Commerce

Lelong.com.my


Lelong.com.my is Malaysia's first successful online auction website. Ever since Ebay made it clear that hosting an online auction marketplace is a very profitable business model, hundreds of similar sites sprung up overnight.

Most of them didn't last long. Lelong, however, sustained itself and in time became Malaysia's largest auction site. For some period of time, they changed their name to Buy Sell Lelong but have since reverted back to the original name.




With a mission statement of "Serving the community and bringing a high standard of quality into homes and businesses by providing an avenue for on-line trading at a low cost", the staff behind Malaysia''s premier auction site continually strive to improve and develop its functionality without levying high costs. At present, Interbase is expanding into more areas of e-commerce and this document will allow you to better understand their business plan and vision.


In case you don't already know, Lelong.com.my is-
1. Malaysia's largest buy sell & auction portal
2. Over 9 million page views per month.
3. Over 450,000 visitors a month.




What's Lelong.com.my ?
A means of identifying Lelong.com.my is to use an international comparison that everyone is familiar with. Styled and functioning similar to the international auction site, eBay.com, Lelong.com.my powers a robust and secure avenue for trading in Malaysia. With a local flavour, members feel a sense of belonging and constantly keep in contact with the Lelong Development Team to give feedback, be it positive or negative. Starting based on Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C) transactions, Lelong.com.my is now moving to becoming a channel for Business-to-Consumer (B2C) relationships. Many distributors have realised the power of using the auction system and are now using our site to trade and grow their business.



The attraction of Lelong.com.my
What are the attractions of using Lelong.com.my ? Many of us have lots of items lying around the house that are not currently in use; whether second hand or new items that we have not gotten around to disposing of. This is a major compelling factor that have brought many users to Lelong.com.my. The track record for selling items is extremely good. Approximately 70% of all items posted for auction on Lelong.com.my are sold. Hence, users stand a good chance of obtaining a successful transaction. The interface is very user-friendly and easy to use. At a glance, most users get the hang of the system. We do focus heavily on customer support and in the event of any problems or queries arising, any e-mails / phone calls directed to us are responded to almost instantaneously.
Problems that arise can also be posted in the forum and many users play a role in replying and helping out others. With all our on-going efforts, a community of auction users has formed which are extremely diverse, and who actively interact amongst one another. This causes them to feel at home and comfortable trading with other members.

Conclusion
There are still a lot of potential on e-commerce auction activities in Malaysia. Entrepreneur in our country must take this opportunity to build up more online market or enhance e-commerce site that has exist and explore it to international e-commerce business.





Related link:
http://www.lelongmalaysia.com/buy-sell-lelong.html
http://www.shvoong.com/about-us/
http://www.lelong.com.my/
http://groups.yahoo.com/phrase/www-lelong-com-my

Current application of E-Government in Malaysia:

1) E-filing
E-Filing is an application on filling and filing income tax returns electronically via the internet, which is an alternative to the usual manual from submission. It was first introduced in 2003 by Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri (LHDN). This e-Filing application can be used by all taxpayers who have access to the internet.

It is easy for taxpayers submit their return form via internet at any time and any place. The data and tax computation also are verified automatically which are more accurate compared to the manual procedure. Furthermore, Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) ensures safety of data. When the tax returns are filed manually, refunds are slow and time consumed. Through the e-Filing, the forms can be processed in a short time and this enables refunds to be processed fast.

2) Renewing Road Tax
For RM2.75, Malaysian can now renew their road tax online and, for an additional RM6, have the road tax delivered to them the next day in the Klang Valley. The delivery fee for those living outside the Klang Valley is RM8, and RM10 for those in Sabah and Sarawak. This online service enabled the public to renew their road tax from anyplace with Internet access and at anytime, via http://www.myeg.com.my/ and www.jpj.gov.my.The public can also renew road tax at E-Service Kiosks placed at the company's 54 E-Service Centres as well as selected bank branches nationwide. Payment for the online road tax renewal service can be made through credit or debit cards or E-cash (MyEG prepaid account).

3) e-Perolehan
ePerolehan is an electronic procurement system provided by the Government to enable suppliers to sell their products or services on the Internet. Through ePerolehan, suppliers and contractors can receive, manage and process orders or payments from Government agencies through transactions done electronically on the Internet.

Below are other examples of successful application of Malaysian e-government:

· Government’s drive for e-government services
·Electronic Labour Exchange (http://www.elx.gov.my/) has matched 75,000 potential employees with employers since 2005.
· SMS alert on e-government services
· Online renewal of driving licenses
· Electronic filing of income tax forms
· Voter information
· Details for government tenders
· Employment opportunities



The recent survey about e-government adoption in Malaysia, which was done by market information group TNS, indicated that the e-government use is growing but at a slow pace. As shown in the study, about 15% of Malaysians have used the internet to access online government services in year 2003 compared to 12% in year 2002. In the survey, Malaysia’s ranking is 25th out of 32 countries in terms of e-government usage growth. The Malaysians are also concerned about the security of doing transactions over the Internet and this resulted in low usage of e-government services. As far as the age group is concerned, the younger Malaysians who are under 34 are the primary users of e-government services. Also noted in the survey, households with high incomes and higher levels of education actively use the e-government services.

The implementation of e-government services will bring benefits to the public, businesses and the government itself. As for the public, saving time and money are the primary reasons to use the e-government implementation, the governments should market their offers, improve citizen’s awareness of the benefits and increase take-up of online services.

PROBLEMS faced in e-government implementation:

· Lacks of public awareness – 60% of the public are not aware of the services offered. Solution: Increase awareness through TV advertisements and organizing workshops at shopping malls.

· Online Behaviour - Malaysians remain sceptical on being distrust on electronic transaction especially on banking online and buying from an Internet store.

· Language barrier – Most of the government websites had in the past been in Bahasa Malaysia. However, there are English versions now.

CITIZEN’S ADOPTION STRATEGIES

E-Services form an emerging field, which is rapidly gaining attention and importance. Citizens expect and demand governmental services with a high degree of quality, quantity, and availability in a 24-hour, seven-days-a-week, and year-round fashion. Governments all over the world are developing information systems and electronic services that have the capacity to meet these emerging service needs and demands of citizens and other clients. Success in delivering electronic services depends upon the capability and self-confidence of citizens in performing e-transactions, as well as their trust and confidence in the protection of their personal data within an open and accountable government. The ease of use, compatibility, and trustworthiness are significant predictors of citizens’ intention to use e-Services and that perceived reactive advantage, perceived image, perceived compatibility, perceived usefulness, and relative advantage are significant elements of e-Government adoption.

E-Government adoption is affected by website design elements that provide perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness, by user characteristics such as sense of perceived risk, feeling of perceived control and prior Internet experience, and also by citizen satisfaction with the quality of its services.

1. Customer satisfaction

E-Government adoption requires that citizens show higher levels of satisfaction with the online service provided by the government. A higher level of customer satisfaction will increase the rate of e-Government adoption.

2. Service Quality

Online service quality for e-Government could be measured in terms of quality of content provided on the website, the speed of the response to the citizens concerns with problem solving approach, and the availability of names. Other important measurement factors are telephone and fax numbers of personnel with whom citizens might need to get in touch, and the integration of an offline channel with online channel so that citizens could interact with government departments through other means if necessary. Higher quality of service will lead to higher levels of customer satisfaction and thus can increase the use of e-government services.

3. Website Design

Personalization of websites, customization of product offerings, and self-care are the three key features that could be used not only to build relationship with the visitors, but also to enhance their experience. These features give visitors a sense of control and participation and could potentially enhance their adoption

4. User Characteristic

User characteristics such as perceived risk, perceived control, and internet experience can have a direct impact on internet adoption. Experience influences a citizen’s trust of e-Government. Users with prior experience, especially if satisfied, would be more likely to return to use e-Government services. Perceived risk leads to security and privacy issues that could discourage the use of online services. It is important to ensure that citizens can transact online securely and their personal information will be kept confidential to increase the level of trust and the e-government adoption rate.

The adoption of e-government bring more convenient to Malaysian and people no longer need to walk to the office to pay their tax form and etc, but pay it in the internet. Nowadays, this implementation still not popular among Malaysian but in the future this will be a great benefit for them.

Auctions are common in markets where the goods sold are valuable (for example, arts) or when their prices can't be easily determined. The process of an auction aims to find a fair price for the goods by identifying buyers who need them the most. It is actually a market mechanism where buyers make bids and sellers place offers to sell the products.

There are few types of e-auction fraud and it can be conducted by sellers or buyers.

1) Bid shielding (buyer’s action)

2) Shilling (seller’s action)

3) Fake photos and misleading descriptions

4) Improper grading techniques

5) Improper grading techniques

6) Selling reproductions (seller’s action)

7) Loss and damage claims (buyer’s action)

8) Failure to ship merchandise (seller’s action)

It is important for those consumers to be aware of the e-auction frauds and know how to protect themselves. Here are some steps to take note to prevent e-auction fraud :

1) Insurance Policy – For instance, eBay which is the Internet auctioneer offers insurance underwritten by Lloyd’s of London. A program is provided with no cost to the eBay users.

2) Authentication service – If the products are defective or fake, product authentication is needed. Authentication is difficult since it relies on the expertise knowledge of the authenticators. It depends on their training and experience to detect those counterfeits.

3) User identity verification –For example, verified eBay user, the voluntary program, encourages users to supply eBay with information for online verification by offering their driver’s license number or date of birth.

4) Feedback Forum - The buyers and sellers are allowed to build up their online trading reputations. The users are able to comment on their experiences with other people.

5) Nonpayment punishment – There is a policy against those who do not honor their winning bids, which is a friendly warning will be given for the 1^st time nonpayment. For second time, a sterner warning is issued. Third offence will be a 30 day suspension while an indefinite suspension is for a fourth offense.

6) Verification - With verification, neutral third parties will identify and evaluate the condition of an item through various methods. For instance, some collectors own their item “DNA tagged” for identification purposes and it provides a way of tracking an item if it changes ownership in the future.

7) Appraisal services – These services include expert assessment of authenticity and condition and reviewing what comparable items have sold for in the marketplace. An appraised value is usually accurate at the time of appraisal but may change over time as an item becomes more or less popular in the marketplace.

In addition, here are a few things need to take note of when a consumer participating in an e-auction to avoid e-auction fraud.

- First, buyers are advised to check the seller’s reputation before purchase by checking the sellers’ feedback. This is quite important because it allows the buyers to voice out their comments or feedbacks about the products to let others be aware of the fake sale.

- Secondly, many sites provide buyer protection, for example courier delivery. Therefore, in cases where you don’t get what you pay for, you can always get a refund from the website.

- Thirdly, buyers should use a credit card because credit card payment can protect them by disputing the charges if the goods are misrepresented or never delivered. They could cancel the card immediately if there is suspect fraud.

- Last, buyers also have to be aware of those fake accounts. Sometimes, some sellers attempt to drive up the price of their own auctions.

^^Here are the links where you can get more information about this topic :

http://wps.prenhall.com/wps/media/objects/260/267260/online_appendices/Turban-Appendix2A.pdf

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/2002/05/07/yaukey.htm