Top Ebay Alternatives 2011 - Ebay Vs. Ebid A Comparison

One of the major complaints about eBay is that they charge listing fees

. That is even when an item is put up for bid and no one bids the seller must still pay just to list the item. Doesn't seem quite fair to me personally. This punishes items that may not sell on the first or second auction. Items that are rare but in low demand may take months to actually sell. Ebay is in fact punishing those types of items (and the sellers who sell them). It makes more sense that the auction company should profit when the seller does, that is after a succesful auction. Ebid is an online auction house similar to eBay in many ways however, they never charge a listing fee to any sellers. Some of the benefits include:

Free to list as many items as you'd like.

Only a 3% Final Value Fee on items that sell.

PayPal, Google Checkout Integrated (Seller+)

For $49.99 you can get a lifetime Seller+ membership upgrade.

Weekly, Monthly and Yearly Seller+ subscriptions also available.

Seller+ subscription eliminates the 3% Final Value Fee.

You get a free Store Front (5 for Seller+ accounts)

So as shown above their are two basic seller accounts on eBid: Seller and Seller+. Your basic seller account still allows for free listings but not some of the perks that go with Seller+. The biggest being that even the final value fees are dropped so you are essentially selling without any fees! Now there are some drawbacks here:

Not as many buyers as eBay.

No dispute resolution process.

Old feedback system where buyers and sellers leave feedback.

No refund guarantee for buyers.

There are two main faults with eBid the first is that there seems to be more sellers than buyers. Because of this a lot of auctions have reserve prices. This could discourage some buyers looking for a true auction experience. The second problem they have is that unlike eBay they have no system for resolving disputes among buyers and sellers. As a seller this may not bother you much but it probably will keep many prospective buyers from joining up. All in all though it looks like a promising site that while not replacing eBay could get some extra sales going and that's always good

Comparing the fees for eBay vs. eBid is really not fair to either company. It's like comparing apples and oranges eBay has a pay as you go approach while eBid is encouraging sellers to pay upfront with their lifetime membership. Another point to note is that the sell through rate on eBid will probably be much lower than on eBay (which already has huge brand awareness among buyers). So while the fees are much less than on eBay there will have to be more money spent by the seller to promote his items or store. This can be accomplished through many means such as social networking, search advertising and content networks. However it is an added cost in money and time. For those who want to be less dependent on a venue and truly venture into the world of eCommerce though this could be an added benefit.

by: Ethan Pepper

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