eBay: The Missing Manual

Appendix C. Other Auction Sites

eBay may be the biggest game in town, but it's not the only one. Other auction sites let you use the same buying and selling strategies you'd use on eBay, but they also offer some different approaches: forums for buyer and seller to haggle over a price, auctions that keep snipers at bay by automatically extending an auction when a bid is placed during the final minutes, and lower fees—even no fees.

Hundreds of auction sites have tried to take on eBay, and hundreds have failed. It's not hard to attract sellers by promising lower fees or abolishing fees altogether. The problem is bringing in buyers—without them, the sellers simply have no one to sell to.

Buyers shop eBay because of the site's amazing selection and great deals. Until another auction site figures out a way to lure in more buyers, eBay will continue to dominate online auctions.Still, it's worth checking out a few of the other auctions described in this appendix; if you're a buyer, there's less competition for bargains, and if you're a seller, you might save yourself some fees.

By the way, this appendix lists other auction sites alphabetically.

Tip

This appendix barely scratches the surface of all the auction sites out there. For a longer list—including specialty sites for coin auctions, antique auctions, heavy equipment auctions, and so on—visit www.nobidding.com.

Amazon Auctions and Marketplace

Amazon (www.amazon.com) doesn't put a lot of effort into supporting the Auctions section ...