Links - online auctions and 2nd hand goods
By now most people who use a computer online will probably have seen adverts for and heard of eBay.
Without doubt, eBay has now become the largest and best website for British users dedicated to online auctions. A few years ago however eBay was less dominent within Britain and was just one of several competing sites which all focussed upon offering online auctions. Some of those early competitors still exist and continue to run auctions in eBay's shadow, while further new sites are still being started from time to time..
internet auction safety advice
- Get Safe Online - auctions page Get Safe Online is a website devoted to providing information and advice about various aspects of safety and surity when using the internet. The page linked to here is their page which deals specifically with online auctions.
online auction sites
- 121Bid.com 121bid.com requires people to register as a user (which is free) before being able to place bids on the items available in auctions.
- Ads and Auctions.com Before being able to place a bid on auctions on the Ads and Auctions.com website poeple need to register as a user (which is free).
- BumbleBee Auctions When lost property is handed into a police station and not claimed, or items are seized by police but their original owner can't be found the police have to do something to get rid of it all. BumbleBee Auctions is the online auction site used by the police to dispose of unclaimed items.
- BuyIt.co.uk Before being able to place bids or list items in auctions it is necesary to become a registered member (which is free to do).
- CQout Registration for membership of CQout (for a one off payment of £2) is required before being able place bids on any auction items on CQout. Once someone has become a member bidding is free.
- eBay eBay is by far and away the largest and best known internet auction site in the UK and has become the site which all others are compared to.
- eBid UK Membership of at least the basic level of eBid (which is free) is needed before being able bid for auction items on eBid and there are no charges to bidders.
- OneWay UK description of the link.
- Tazbar Registration as a user (which is free) is required before bids can be placed or auctions listed. There is no charge for bidding on items.
- Totalbids TotalBids requires people to become a registered user (which is free) before being able to bid on auctions or list an item in an auction.
- QXL QXL requires poeple to become a registered user (which is free) before being able to bid for any items. Bidders are not charged any fees for using QXL.
No listing fees are charged for placing basic listings within the auctions, although enhanced listings are available for suplimental fees. Sellers have to pay a commision on any items whcih are sold through 121bid.com.
Items listed in auctions with a start price of £100 or less do not attract a listing fee, items which sell for £100 or less are not subject to a final value commision charge. fees and charges do exist for listing itmes which start above £100 and / or finish the auction with a final value in excess of £100.
At the time of writing BuyIt.co.uk is offering all auction services on it's website free of charge and is not charging a commision for completed sales.
There are no listing fees for sellers who want basic item descriptions for their auction (although better descriptions are possible at a cost). Sellers are charged a commision on the final selling price of items sold through a CQout auction.
eBid charges it's sellers a commision on final sale prices for items which are auctioned on it's website, but does not charge a listing fee for putting items up for auction. There are also Gold Membership options avaiable which offer a one-off fee following which no additional fees are payable by the seller for items sold through eBid.
Tazbar does not charge sellers a listing fee for basic listings (although enhanced listings are avaible for a fee), but does charge sellers a commision if items are sold.
Tazbar also emphasises some of it's other features such as their wanted section.
At the moment, Totalbids does not charge any fees or commisions for becoming a registered user, bidding on items, buying items, listing items in auctions or selling items. The website currently states that this will remain the case until July 2007.
QXL charges listing fees for placing items up for auction and also charges a commision on the final sale price for anything sold through it's auctions.
internet auction related services and software
- eBay Trading Assistants .
- GarageSale .
- iSale .
- OnBidder OnBidder software helps to automate the bidding (and sniping) process of buying from eBay auctions.