There is no question that eBay is the biggest online auction game in town, but are there viable eBay alternative sites for sellers? Over the past several years, changing eBay policies and increasing seller fees have produced a rising degree of anger and frustration among sellers. The result is that many have found other selling alternatives, some have given up altogether, and ever greater numbers of sellers consider taking their business to other auction and ecommerce marketplaces. My own research shows that regardless of the ill feeling, eBay continues to thrive and new sellers continue to flock to eBay trying their hand at auction success. If you are one of the dissatisfied, or merely wanting to expand your selling options, this article will attempt to point you in the direction of some of the alternatives.
To begin, it is important to keep in mind that not all selling venues are equal and that not all items may sell equally well on every marketplace. Some marketplaces may have inbuilt biases towards and against items depending on the characteristic of the traffic visiting the site. I’m not saying this to scare you, just to make you aware that when you move from venue to venue, you may have to tweak your auctions and presentation to catch buyer interest. At this time, due to dissatisfaction with eBay (justified or not), there are many eBay alternativesspringing up. You may have even considered starting your own auction site, but I think it is fair to advise that you not spread yourself too thin, and that you stick to the most viable possibilities.
Selling products online loosely falls under the large category of ecommerce, and when you are looking for eBay alternatives, you are basically going to be researching auction sites and non-auction sites. Broadly speaking, non-auction sites fall into three categories, merchant program sites, classified ad sites, and self-hosted ecommerce sites. When considering marketplace possibilities, it is important to remember that each kind of marketplace has its own characteristics. Remember, there is no shortage of online auction sites other than eBay.


