Alternatives to eBay

[m.bruehl]

Dear all,

are there other online auction platforms or marketplaces that can be recommended?

Perhaps we can start a collection, like done with online shops?

For Europe, I can throw in

www.ricardo.ch (only German or French language)

Regards

Michael

[John Kasaian]

The "for sale" section here is an excellent resource.

Also Craig's List yields a surprising amount of darkroom stuff----4x5 enlargers and dry mount presses at cheap or even haul it off the place deals.

[Carsten Wolff]

The New Zealand auction site www.trademe.co.nz is ok, but usually has very few, if any LF items.

In your neck of the woods is, as you probably know, a German LF forum: www.gffoto.de (nowhere near the equivalent quality of this forum, by the way, as strangely - and despite being speckled with some talent -, the ability to read original questions is often being overridden by a "wealth" of ego ). But it does have an ok buy/sell section.

I second John's comment.

[m.bruehl]

Thanks John, thanks Carsten,

I didn't want to just get adresses where to buy LF stuff. As the header said: I've been looking for alternatives to ebay.

From the immense feedback and your two answers I have the proof for what I suspected and have been afraid of:

There are no real alternatives. Not "US only" or "Asia only". Perhaps some very small or local platforms. But no real alternative.

That's double annoying, because the politics of ebay more and more move from "flea market / garage sale" to "professional trading" (at higher prices than you find by product research out of ebay).

@ Carsten: German LF forum - I am also registered there, as some others in this forum, too. Different style there.

So - let's forget about the issue and go back to business: taking photos.

Kind regards

Michael

[Ken Lee]

I don't like auctions, even when I am the seller.

I much prefer the refined civility of a listed price, or as they call it on eBay..."BuyItNow".

[Bryan Lemasters]

I wish there were comparable alternatives - ebay needs some competition.

[Michael Graves]

I don't like auctions, even when I am the seller.

I much prefer the refined civility of a listed price, or as they call it on eBay..."BuyItNow".

Same here. If I'm selling something, I start here. Only if nobody on LFF wants it do I resort to ebay. Then again, I'm no professional...just an equipment junkie.

[m.bruehl]

I wish there were comparable alternatives - ebay needs some competition.

You hit the nail on the head. And that's what I wanted to check.

Regards

Michael

[Kuzano]

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".

I pay no attention to the politics and/or constantly changing procedures of eBay. I expect absolutely no protection in my buying and selling through them. Their feedback system surpasses any method of engaging sellers, or buyer, and even then I consider it a modest effort at protection.

Having been in Banking, Marketing and Management for close to 40 years, I marvel at the model that eBay offers for putting buyers and sellers together in some reasonable fashion, including the payment vehicle offered.

I don't think we are going to see a competitive venture come close to eBay in the foreseeable future. In the meantime, I continue to use it to my advantage. I expect nothing more from eBay than the opportunity to present my goods to a world market for a reasonable price, and the ability to sell my goods to a world market for a minimal listing and commission fee.

Sorry, but I like eBay. Splitting the pie with other auctions sites simply means that the exposure to sell and opportunity to buy simply gets smaller.

[Ben Syverson]

I have to agree with Kuzano... eBay IS the market for many goods. Sellers may complain about fees or whatever, but if they move to a different site, their market shrinks to almost nothing, and suddenly they can't find buyers (or at least command the same prices). Buyers may complain about fraud, but when you need that 348mm Sexygon-G, you'll be 1000 times more likely to find it on eBay than some tiny upstart. Thus, the upstart will never be able to collect a critical mass. The only hope for a competitor is that eBay a) is broken up by antitrust laws or b) makes some fatal misstep (increases fees too much) and loses a majority of their professional sellers. Both are equally improbable.

I think you will, however, see the rise of smaller, specialized markets though. For instance, the for sale section here. There's some built-in trust (both ways), the seller usually knows what he/she is talking about, and you're likely to get a better deal, since the seller knows who it's going to. Same with rangefinderforum, and all those specialized sites...