Looked around at auction sites...

[HowardH]

Since ebaY decided it could throw its weight around with impunity, I looked around to see if there was any viable competition.

The survey was dissappointing.

Waggle...popped. Site owner got his feelings hurt, went off and hid.

Bidcents...mysterious disappeared. Poof.

Overstock.com -- I thought that Overstock might actually be some competition, but they are just as stuck up as ebaY, and much less useful. I tried them for about 6 weeks. Aside from the very low sell-through rate, I got non-paying-buyers, which is something I don't get on ebaY. Utter waste of time.

Ubid. Can't find out what the seller's fees are without registering with you credit card. No-go.

Bidville. For such a small site, they sure are slow...

Liquidation.com. Hmmm. Interesting, but definitely not for everyone. Large lots only.

BluJay.com Here's one that looks promising, but it's not really an auction site. I've got several listings there, but I haven't had any buyers yet. But the price is right (free), and they are rapicly improving the site. Still has a few glitches, but I'm patient.

I saw in this thread that there is a new one called TheHighBidder.com, so I went to check it out. Looks nice, but it's obviously pretty new. I may want to give it a whirl, but I have some suggestions:

First, I know that you want to attract sellers, and that's probably why you have no basic listing fee. I hope that you eventually plan to charge something for the listing, so that 1) you'll make some money, and 2) you'll weed out the trash listings.

Second, the optional charges are a bit complicated, and it's obvious that you want to make all your money with add-ons. Back to my first suggestion: I would eventually like to see a charge for basic listings, and then maybe one or two categories of upgrades. For instance, an enhancement package with a few features, and a deluxe package with everything.

Third, I didn't see a final value fee -- which is GREAT! FVFs just encourage sellers to play tricks like reversing the sales and shipping prices.

After I have a chance to read up on your TOS, I think I definitely will give it a whirl.

[Mindy]

[HowardH]

[jbbrwcky]

- getting bigger, and its a nice design, easy to use

- this is a smallish site, and modeled on earlier versions of eBay, but its slowly gaining momentum

- i've started using this a lot, payment site and auction site all in one

Just a few more to add

Jbbrwcky

[HowardH]

I have a test listing up on TheHighBidder, going into my 2nd week, featuring an item that I sell 3-4 a week of on ebay, BluJay, and my direct site. So far, no nibbles.

Since it's free, I'll let it ride for a couple of months. The site does appear to be growing. I may add a couple of others, just to see if that helps any.

So far, I don't see anything to blow ebay away, which is sad. There's nothing wrong with ebay that a good healthy dose of credible competition wouldn't cure in a heartbeat.

Same with PayPal, BTW. There is a new kid on the block, GreenZap (my link is - the come-on is an unrestricted $25 credited to your account if you preregister; I don't know if I get anything for signing anybody up or not, that wasn't made clear). I have no idea whether these folks will have any staying power, but I certainly wish them well. The more competition, the better.

[HowardH]

[Lynn Terry]

Is it a full-time position, or a flexible one that will allow you to continue pursuing your online ventures? (being nosey )

Also, I wanted to comment on what you said above about Amazon. While I do personally go there specifically to buy books... as an affiliate, I make quite a few sales from their product end (not book related - electronics, toys, etc). I think the 'Amazon' name is widely recognized & trusted, so visitors feel comfortable buying through them - even if they dont feel comfortable pulling out their credit card on other sites. They do have that going for them...

[HowardH]

[HowardH]

http://wwsn-forums.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=3496

This has all of the appearances of a classic Ponzi scam. If you signed up for this, DO NOT give this crook any personal identifying information, and DO NOT 'deposit' the $100 you have to put in to get your $25 'bonus'. The first lucky few will get their 'bonus' plus whatever they get for signing up other suckers -- which will create a big stir, no doubt.

If the perpetrator can make a big enough buzz, and manage to get out of the country just before it implodes, he stands to make a fortune. At your expense.

You have been warned.

[McNulty]

Great thread, very helpful. Though I am a bit surprised to see no real viable competition to eBay.

[Thehighbid]

[auctionnet]

a good friend of mine Aaron has tested many of these eBay alternatives one by one... His results can be found here: http://www.awwstore.com/news/oah/

Good luck.