Alternative auction sites to ebay

[godwulf]

Re: Alternative auction sites to ebay

The wife said she heard some eBay higher-up being interviewed about the changes, and the dissatisfaction that they've generated, and she said that he made some remark to the effect that eBay was trying to change its image from that of "some kind of flea market" to that of a true auction house.

EBay has always been a giant flea market, and that's exactly why people love it. People tend to have mixed feelings about most higher-end auction houses, or they ignore them - few people in the world can resist a good flea market.

If the folks at eBay truly are cutting their own throats in an attempt to boost their own "prestige", after making a mint being the online equivalent of a state fair - a fun, cheap, and relatively down-to-earth place to goof off, eat fried stuff and check out the freaks - it's really too bad. I'll miss it.

[metsbats]

Re: Alternative auction sites to ebay

Of course it may work opposite if you are a buyer. You may be able to get some really great deals.

[metsbats]

Re: Alternative auction sites to ebay

Thanks for your thoughts. I agree Ebay has the greatest share of the online auction market. Only time can tell if these startups can gain some of that market share to make it worth while to switch over. As much as i dislike Ebay and their high fees and ridiculous feedback policies, taking a chance of selling on these new sites which may not have the clientale we are used to, may not be worth it at this point in time.

The best approach would be to monitor these sites and see what items are going for and if they are getting better bids than Ebay it may be time to try them.


David

[bigtruck260]

Re: Alternative auction sites to ebay

I know it's cliche - but eBay is a necessary evil.

Ooh, it pains me to say that. I am not a irriated by the fee increase, as it does not affect me that much...most stuff I sell is under $100.

The new "buyers do not deserve negatives" attitude has me flustered.

I would have a very tiny collection and LOTS of junk in my home if not for eBay. Case in point...I was selling a busload of McFarlane statues for a friend. He had them on Amazon and Craigslist for a LONG time. I sold all of them in a week on eBay for more than he was originally asking AFTER eBay fees and MY fees.

eBay is like my son. I love him to death, but he needs a little spanking every now and again.


Dave

[TNTtoys]

Re: Alternative auction sites to ebay

I've always said that eBay is the Scotch tape of the clear tape industry. I can't believe that eBay could ever have serious competition. What could an upstart online auction site offer customers, that eBay couldn't? Yes, eBay has many faults, but how could a new company do better?

They can offer a better fee structure... but frankly, I would rather pay the higher fee if it means to me that 100X the number of potential buyers will see my item. The whole point to selling on an auction based site is to have as many people see your item as possible. Only then you get the possibilities of multiple people wanting it and fighting for it.

[both-teams-played-hard]

Re: Alternative auction sites to ebay

Ebay is doing their thing to disappoint and upset sellers, but this is economics 101...law of supply and demand. They are doing it because they can.

I've always said that eBay is the Scotch tape of the clear tape industry. I can't believe that eBay could ever have serious competition. What could an upstart online auction site offer customers, that eBay couldn't? Yes, eBay has many faults, but how could a new company do better?

[TNTtoys]

Re: Alternative auction sites to ebay

Good thought David, but I am unfortunately not going to try it. Ebay is doing their thing to disappoint and upset sellers, but this is economics 101...law of supply and demand. They are doing it because they can. I suppose we're going to keep using their service much in the same way we are going to pay more for Mets tickets this year and even more for them the year after.

I did take a look at onlineauction.com out of curiosity, and did a search for Mets items excluding cards. The search yielded 5 results. 0 jerseys.

I ran the same search on ebay. 3,807 Mets items excluding cards. 500 of them were jerseys.

It's a shame that these other auction sites are this far behind ebay. They certainly are at a huge disadvantage and have a long way to go to just get themselves into the game at all. I give them credit for trying though.

[godwulf]

Re: Alternative auction sites to ebay

I just checked out a couple of sites mentioned in the article. At onlineauctions.com, I did a search for "game used bat"; 69 hits, all cards. At ecrater.com, there were 48 hits, 43 of them cards. I guess when sellers start to sell there...

On the other hand, thanks to the thread on this board about Left Field Collectibles, and Jim Popham's outfit - can't recall the name at the moment - I've added some nice bats to my collection. I ordered three bats from each place, and had them all within a week. Consider this my Positive feedback!

[metsbats]

http://money.cnn.com/2008/02/06/smbusiness/ebay_alternatives.fsb/index.htm?postversion=2008020610

I'm considering trying an alternative to ebay.

Anyone else?

David