3 Unusual Formats For Auctions on eBay

by Sydney Johnston

eBay users are accustomed to only two "standard" formats for sales on eBay: either the 'regular' auction which involves bidding and waiting; and the Buy It Now, which is an instant purchase. But there are three other formats that are less well known. 1. Live Auctions Before eBay, the traditional auction included live bodies in chairs and an auctioneer up front (talking so fast he was frequently unintelligible). Any buyer can still participate in these live auctions via eBay. Live auctions are a hybrid - a buyer is 'sort of' present in a live setting yet is at home using an Internet connection. The products for sale are usually expensive and unusual. There are such items as expensive and unique coins, Asian art, native American artifacts, incredible jewelry, costly furniture, memorabilia from major sports stars and even history. Today, for instance, there are documents signed by John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, James Madison and Ulysses Grant (he confides that he was strenuously opposed to the "wicked" war with Mexico). If you choose to participate in a live auction, be certain that you register first because you can't just drop in on a whim. You can find all the details here: http://www.ebayliveauctions.com 2. Private Auctions Private auctions are similar to the typical auction that we're all familiar with except for one detail - the identities of the bidders are kept secret. Only the seller has access to the names. Why would anyone create a private auction? It's usually for one of three reasons: * The item is quite expensive and buyers might be uncomfortable having others know they can afford such merchandise. Their concern about their financial status is most likely misplaced because it is quite possible to distance yourself from eBay contact information, but much of selling is about perception. * The buyers might be embarrassed by the nature of the merchandise. * Some sellers habitually use private auctions to make it harder for their competition to snoop on them. 3. Restricted Access Auctions This is usually for sales of "adult" items. The main purpose is to prevent children from seeing this kind of merchandise, and is similar to having covers on racy magazines at store checkouts. To bid on these items, the buyer must: * Be 18 years old * Must have supplied credit card information to eBay.The theory is that no one under 18 can get a credit card and therefore cannot get into these sections. * Agree that he is voluntarily accessing restricted access auctions In addition, restricted auctions are excluded from the Featured pages. So if you are a seller using this format, your listing will be harder to find. Even though they are less well known, these three formats for auctions on eBay still account for tens of millions of dollars in sales each year. If they suit your business model, you might consider them. About the Author Learn how to sell on eBay with 16 hours of online instruction taught by a 10 year eBay veteran. Own an eBay business instead of an eBay hobby. http://www.auction-genius-course.com

Australian online auction upstart takes on eBay

by 2Bid.com.au founder, Adam Mulcahy

An exciting new online auction website, 2Bid.com.au is taking on the global might of eBay in a bid to keep a slice of the auction action in Australia. The site offers all the powerful features of a major online auction website with two significant differences - it is 100% free to buy, sell or trade items, and, it is 100% Australian owned. 2Bid.com.au was started by local businessman Adam Mulcahy who became frustrated with seeing foreign companies collecting huge amounts of money in fees for Australians to trade with other Australians. "I find it absurd that Aussies are trading direct with each other yet paying fees to overseas companies for the privilege! I started this online auction website 2Bid.com.au so that Aussies could trade with Aussies completely FREE and not lose money overseas with every transaction." With 2Bid.com.au it costs nothing to buy, sell, auction, swap or create an online store - there are no commissions, no listing fees and no sales fees. This means 2Bid.com.au has no need to collect members' credit card details making it a safe option for people wary of submitting their credit card details online. Even with a majority 72% of Australian households having internet connections and 59% of internet users performing buying/selling activities (ACNielsen, 2005), there are still concerns about security and fraud. 2Bid.com.au addresses this issue directly and has opened up online selling to a whole new group of Australians. Also, because the auction website is only open to Australians it lowers the chance of fraud from overseas users and removes the complexity of international currency and delivery. "We're taking the global guys on at their own game using the internet to let Aussies trade with Aussies without a slice of revenue going overseas" said Mulcahy. 2Bid.com.au first opened on 10 November 2005 and has since had 6,797 visitors and 2,435 auctions created by its 185 active members. Having established it as a proven concept with secure and efficient services, 2Bid.com.au is now launching to the mainstream Australian market. About the author: Australian businessman Adam Mulcahy started 2Bid.com.au after becoming frustrated with seeing foreign companies collecting huge amounts of money in fees for Australians to trade with other Australians.

[CaRP] Can't open cache file.

[CaRP] Unable to create/open RSS cache file.

[CaRP] Failed to open file: /home/auctionp/public_html/autocache/2709f33c13b1843392842ed2dcbd37c5

[CaRP] Can't open remote newsfeed.