David vs. Goliath - free auctions vs eBay

by Jill Nightingale

I have been an eBay buyer and seller for over 6 years. I have also tried almost every other online auction site on the internet. My conclusion - there is eBay, then there is everybody else. eBay was the first and is still number one for the sheer number of items to be found. Their commercials stating find "it" here are not too far off the base. Yes, eBay nickels and dimes sellers. Yes, the sheer volume of items make it necessary to search rather than being able to browse. It still beats the alternative. If you are an honest seller with something someone else would like to buy (which is almost anything with luck and good timing), you have a chance to sell. If you are looking for something difficult to find or are a bargain hunter without time or patience for flea markets and garage sales - eBay is the place to go to. There are numerous free lising auction sites on the internet, including Yahoo (which was free and an almost competitor of eBay, started to charge sellers and almost disappeared and is now free again but has yet to recover) and ePier which have been around for a while. These sites are appealing to sellers because you don't pay for what you don't sell but for the buyers eBay is the one stop shopping place. Why go to five sites looking for five items and finding one if you're lucky when you can find at least four of the five by going to eBay. While I will continue to monitor these "free" online auction sites, both as a buyer and a potential seller, time is money and since listing auctions can be time consuming I will stick to the goliath... About the author: Jill Nightingale is a long time eBay seller (user id jillyafah) specializing in opal, ammolite, dichroic glass, and gemstone jewelry. She also has a jewelry web shop Jill's Jewelry & Opal Treasures at http://opaltreasures-rainbowdreams.com