Alternatives to eBay

[Ash]

I used to love Yahoo Auctions. In the west it's been bought out by ebay. It has taken *much* longer to take over Yahoo's share in Asia, however. See here - http://auctions.yahoo.com/


I believe S Gandy of cameraquest has attempted to set up a camera auction site. I've no idea of its success or longevity.



Much like Google for search engines, the bay has stolen away the auction market from all competitors and has destroyed the joy for most. I despise it. In fact my most recent listing I pulled since I couldn't bear the terms and conditions, and that because I rarely used it I was forced to offer paypal as an option to buyers, even though it was UK only.



Classifieds are the only places to find 'deals' or trustworthy sales from non-ebay sources. Some dealers have marked their prices competitively. For example a good condition 1980's Hasselblad SWC from a dealer is costing me £900; there was a 1950's one on ebay, I was interested - the seller did not have a bid meet his reserve of £800. I offered to buy it, this offer was refused. He put it back up for auction with a lower reserve and it went for £750. I got the security of a reputable dealer, and a more modern version for £150 more. On ebay similar 1980's models are available for no less than £1200.

[John Kasaian]

FWIW I think some of the best alternatives to ebay (in addition to the sales areas here and APUG and through Craig's List) are places like Midwest Photo, Badger Graphic, Igor and Equinox.

[Ben Syverson]

...and KEH

[Dave Parker]

My confirmed paypal and ebay address is a PO Box, I have never had any difficulty at all with them, as far as their fee's for a small business man, they make much more sense than me paying for a card swipe machine, as well as a monthly statement fee, and various other charges that normal merchant accounts require, which they also require a per transaction charge, all credit card services do, and when your an internet based business, most banks charge an extra fee for being an internet business.

I have not sold on ebay for a few years now, due to the ever increasing fee structure, when I want to sell something, I normally just list it on here.

Dave

[mdd99]

I try to avoid Ebay. I prefer our site and photo.net, along with KEH, Midwest, and Badger.

[Stephen Fritz]

You might keep an eye on this:

http://www.ecommerce-guide.com/news/article.php/3743561

http://www.wigix.com/index.php/wigix

Interesting to see what happens, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

[Vlad Soare]

There is a way around eBays PayPal requirement. I offer it because they say I have to. I put in the auction that any PayPal users must send a cash deposit 10 times the amount of the winning bid before paying by PayPal.

What do you mean you have to? I have seen a lot of auctions where PayPal was not offered as a payment option.
Anyway, while I understand why sellers may not like PayPal, as a buyer living outside US I find it a real blessing. I can pay quickly and easily with just a few mouse clicks. All other alternatives are so expensive, insecure and troublesome that I don't even bother taking them into account (unless the seller accepts credit cards directly, which is usually not the case). As far as I'm concerned, if a seller doesn't offer PayPal I don't bid. It's that simple: no PayPal, no bid - no exceptions.

[claudiocambon]

I am a huge Ebay fan, although I am concerned about several changes I have seen:

1. the fees, as others have already noted, which are becoming alarmingly steep;

2. the near monopoly that some large buyers risk acquiring over certain kinds of equipment; there is a guy, for example, who seems to be cornering the market for Hasselblad whose prices are too high, descriptions too vague or conflated, but who risks being able to get away with this because of his market share, sort of the way Microsoft can make billions making inferior software simply by dominating the market;

3. the disappearance of buyer feedback. To witness, I have a flake on my hands right now who won an auction, but who isn't coming to life about paying at all. Sure, I can register an unpaid item complaint, but I bet this lack of accountability (compared to sellers) will generate buyer impunity.

And I love the for sale stuff here. This is a great venue.

[John Kasaian]

A very good friend just told me about www.shopgoodwill.com
The photo gear is an eclectic mix---no LF stuff at present but there are quite a few old folders and you never know what's going to turn up. Apparently all the Goodwill thrift stores are players at this auction site.

[JW Dewdney]

And not likely to be. Most peoples attitudes about eBay, and the "getting caught up" in the politics are counterproductive to the one main factor ebay offers in the marketplace.

The venue provides the most worldwide exposure to a buying and selling public for the lowest cost possible. The fact that no one comes close to the success of eBay totally disputes the comments that they need "competition".

Actually not. The only reason ebay has the 'exposure' is because of their anticompetitive monopolistic practices - kind of like scientology or the mafia...!! - it's more due to their unscrupulous and very nasty 'ethics' that keeps the competition out. All you have to do is google 'bidpay' vs paypal to see the kind of thing that goes on.

I got screwed myself by paypal/ebay - they still owe me over $2K. I VOW never to use them again.