| When most people think internet auctions they think | | | | online auctions in one form or another, with many |
| Ebay. What many auction fanatics don't realize is that | | | | general interest sites averaging between 75,000 to |
| Ebay is not the only place out there to find the elusive | | | | 250,000 listings. These numbers pale next to Ebays |
| "IT". | | | | average of 12 million or so a day but are still quite |
| Ebay well deserves the brand name they have | | | | respectable. |
| worked to build. They have come a very long way | | | | Yet another great alternative for online auction buyers |
| since Peter Omidyar founded the company in 1995. | | | | are the much smaller specialty auction sites. We have |
| The once small auction site has moved from a lowly | | | | found auction sites specializing in nothing but old |
| person to person auction venue to a huge multi-billion | | | | postcards, wicca, beads, guns, and even taxidermy. |
| dollar conglomerate of companies operating worldwide. | | | | Many of these sites tend to be quite busy and appear |
| Has the growth been good for Ebay? Of course - | | | | to have a steady flow of customers and listings. |
| especially if you were one of the early stockholders. | | | | Many of the alternative sites lack the bells and whistles |
| Has it been good for the consumer? Maybe so, | | | | that buyers have come to expect from ebay. While |
| maybe not. Trying to be all things to all people has | | | | most require their sellers to register with them before |
| brought many changes to the core auction business. | | | | listing, not all have feedback or rating systems in place |
| Not the least of which are the recent moves to | | | | for sellers. Due diligence is necessary, as it should be |
| "downsize" Ebay stores and place an emphasis on | | | | when purchasing from any online venue. Check out |
| new items over old (i.e. Ebay Express). In short, it is | | | | your seller with whatever tools the site makes |
| becoming much harder to find that elusive collectible | | | | available. Its also wise to pay when possible with |
| piece and much easier to find brand new off the shelf | | | | Paypal or a credit card so there is some recourse |
| items. | | | | should a purchase go bad. Take the time to read and |
| The savvy auction buyer has discovered that that if | | | | understand each sites policies before bidding, as they |
| you can't find it on Ebay there are many other auction | | | | all are just a little bit different. |
| type alternatives available on the internet. And with | | | | In many cases, what separates alternative sites from |
| those alternatives come many bargains and tough to | | | | Ebay is simply exposure. Most don't have the millions |
| find items. Frequently, since sellers incur much lower | | | | of dollars to spend on print, TV, and search engine |
| fees on non-ebay sites, the starting bids are much | | | | advertising. Many rely strictly upon word of mouth and |
| lower. There is also considerably less traffic, so bidding | | | | scattered links throughout the internet. We have listed |
| wars are also unlikely. Buyers are also finding that a | | | | a great many sites in our auction directory for several |
| great many sellers on the lesser known sites are small | | | | years, and are still finding new sites each week. A |
| business people who also sell on Ebay (or have | | | | good place for buyers to start in seeking alternative |
| moved to another site from Ebay). | | | | and specialty auction sites is through the search |
| Two of the larger alternative sites are Yahoo | | | | engines. Many are buried quite deeply, but they are out |
| Auctions and Bidville Auctions. Each site now boasts | | | | there. As both a buyer from many non-ebay sites and |
| over one million listings and from all appearances both | | | | a seller on a few others I can attest that the extra |
| seem to still be growing. But that's just the tip of the | | | | effort required can be well worth it. |
| iceberg. There are literally hundreds of sites offering | | | | |