| If you are new to the world of online auctions, you | | | | As you can see, there are numerous other sites out |
| might have the impression that there is nothing but | | | | there. Before signing up with one (or several) of them, |
| eBay. While eBay is massive and constantly | | | | you should ask a few questions: |
| advertises the fact that you can find "it" on eBay, there | | | | How long has the site been in business? Who stands |
| are other services available. Whether you are just | | | | behind it? |
| setting out as an online seller, want to switch sites, or | | | | What is its fee structure, both for listing and final value |
| diversify your sales channel, it might be worthwhile to | | | | fees? |
| look at alternatives. | | | | Which forms of payment can you accept on this site? |
| You should be aware, though, that using eBay has its | | | | How much activity is there in your product category? |
| advantages. It is much larger than its competitors (see | | | | The last question is particularly important. A low-cost or |
| which translates into an anormous amount of traffic. | | | | even free auction site will be useless for you, if there is |
| And it is a recognized brand that spends a lot on | | | | little traffic in your category. Even a free listing costs |
| marketing. | | | | you the time you need to create it! |
| However, eBay also has its disadvantages. The fees | | | | Once you have answered these questions, you may |
| for sellers are relatively high, many categories have | | | | decide to go with one of the established competitors |
| fierce price competition, and there are recurring | | | | (yahoo.com, overstock.com), choose a smaller site |
| technical glitches and dubious "improvements" (such as | | | | (bluejay.com, ecrater.com) or go for a niche site that |
| giving sellers overly optimistic arrival dates during the | | | | specializes in such items as pinball machines |
| holiday shipping season). | | | | (pinballmachines.com) or bead jewelry (justbeads.com). |
| Where can you find alternatives? Here are some | | | | Of course there is always the option of building your |
| URLs to get you started: | | | | own web store to sell your items. |
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