eBay: The Missing Manual

Overstock Auctions

Overstock Auctions (http://auctions.overstock.com) is part of Overstock.com, an online discount outlet. It offers 10-minute auction extensions to prevent sniping, fixed-price sales (called Make It Mine), and charity auctions. Bidders can't retract a bid they've placed, so be careful when you're bidding. For sellers, Overstock.com offers O-Lister, a bulk listing tool, and Pay to Play, an optional feature that requires bidders to pay a deposit before they can place a bid that's higher than a certain amount (determined by the seller). Overstock.com charges both listing fees and FVFs (called closing fees here).

Overstock Auctions tries to build community through personal home pages (like eBay's About Me pages) and through Business and Personal Networks. Your Business Network consists of everyone you've done business with on the site, whether you were a buyer or a seller in the transaction. Each person in your Business Network can rate the transaction, precisely as in eBay's feedback system. On Overstock.com, this is called your Business Rating, shown in Figure C-3. Your Personal Network is made up of your Overstock.combuddies; you can invite anyone to join it (and kick them to the curb if they dare leave you negative feedback). Given this system, it's not surprising that just about everyone on Overstock.com has a fivestar Personal Rating; it's the Business Ratings you have to keep an eye on.

Figure C-3. Overstock Auctions adds a new layer to feedback. The Business ...