Speed, e-Gonzales

New eBay Trial Will Work For Charity

Auction site eBay is launching a five-minute ``speed shopping'' auction format aimed at ultra-competitive buyers. The retailer will trial Speed eBay at three UK cities this month, following research that found almost one-third of Britons who use eBay do not place their bids until the last five minutes of a listing. They will set up touch-screen ``pods'' in public venues across the UK where up to three shoppers can bid against each other for a maximum of five minutes. Money raised from the hourly ``speed sales'' will be donated to Oxfam and the British Heart Foundation.