Spotlight: Online Auctions

Super Auction Sites

Want an auction with everything and then some?  Visit a Super auction and be amazed at the amount and variety of listings.  From hard-to-find computer parts to celebrity undergarments, auction super sites have it all.

1. EBay.com - EBay.com is one of the most visited sites on the internet, rated 18 by MediaMetrix. EBay offers free registration to online buyers and sellers to conduct auction business over the internet. The seller must pay a fee to post an item and a percentage based fee upon final sale, while the buyer has no financial commitments to EBay. The site remains popular due to its “Feedback Form” system which rates the reputation of sellers according to the number of positive comments received about them, affording some degree of security to the buyer. In addition, EBay offers insurance up to $200 to the buyer. The site draws visitors due to its large (~4,000,000) number of items for auction and the diversity of its community.

2. Amazon - Amazon’s auction site is very comparable to EBay in its feedback system, seller’s fees, and slightly higher insurance coverage. Where it lacks is overall number of customers. In one indicative search for Pokemon collectibles, EBay listed 777 pages of 50 items each, while Amazon listed 124 pages of 50 items per page. Amazon does, however, offer buyers and sellers to male zShop transactions which occur at fixed prices. In addition, Amazon auctions may be payable through credit card directly to Amazon in lieu of making arrangements directly with the seller. While it offers this and other more minor conveniences, Amazon’s site still trails in popularity to EBay.

3. Ubid.com - Ubid is basically an auction superstore where Ubid offers a wide variety of products from computers to travel services for auction. Ubid is the sole vendor with its own warehouse and shipping facilities, so vending is reliable. Within each category, the choice of manufacturers is extensive; the computer category offers NEC, HP, IBM and Compaq computers in many different configurations.

4. Auction.com - This site offers over 6,000 categories of auctions for consumer/merchant to consumer sales by auction. The site also maintains a buy/sell account where credit is funded through credit cards and the such. Thus, the site aims at the frequent auction participant.