Amazon.com Inc. is adding functions that let its Amazon Auction customers buy items they bid on with just one click and has begun testing a "Trusted Brands" section, where it is auctioning excess inventory from other retailers.

Launched a year ago, Amazon Auctions is representative of Amazon's overall strategy: to be the place online shoppers go for everything. Amazon began as a bookseller and now peddles everything from toys to clothing. Amazon Auctions "is a very important merchandising tool for the company," says Mike May, a senior analyst at Jupiter Communications Inc. "It allows them to sell a huge selection of products that their retail operation doesn't carry."

Amazon Auctions features more than 2 million products, including one-of-a-kind items--such as the tunic actor Russell Crowe wears in the movie "Gladiator"--new merchandise from its retail store, even high-end antiques from its Sothebys.Amazon.com section. "The goal is not to outdo eBay," says Jeff Blackburn, director and general manager of Amazon Auctions. "Our goal at the beginning was to dramatically increase Amazon.com's selection of items, and we are very happy with how well Amazon Auctions is doing."

For customers who have already given Amazon their credit information, Amazon Auctions lets them buy an item they have successfully bid on with one click. Customers don't want to have to type their payment information twice, Blackburn says.

Trusted Brands, meanwhile, is testing the waters for auctions of excess inventory from Service Merchandise and Gear.com. It's an extension of the site's Outlet section, where Amazon auctions its own excess inventory. May says the move could put Amazon in a new line of business: "If this proves successful, then Amazon.com may end up competing with not just retailers but with auction software and service providers, such as FairMarket and OpenSite."