Alan's Auction List - Popular Auctions

Amazon (auctions.amazon.com) If you've purchased anything from the Amazon bookstore in the past, you're already registered for Amazon’s auction. (You will be given the opportunity to select a User ID and password to use for bidding.) Not surprisingly, Amazon is strong in books, although it still does not have as many at auction as eBay. Another way Amazon is attracting business is with alliances to established sellers. For example, the famous Sotheby's auction house has teamed up with Amazon to offer authenticated fine art in Amazon auctions.

Auctionaddict (auctionaddict.com) This site is similar to the eBay auction model. Sellers and buyers must register before participating. However, Aauctionaddict does not charge sellers a listing fee, only a fee when the item sells. It also goes beyond the realm of auctions and allows you to create an electronic storefront where you can sell items directly to consumers without the auction format.

Cityauction (cityauction.com) The purpose of CityAuction is to enable buyers and sellers to find each other in their own geographical region. It has several thousand auctions daily, a small inventory, and no presence in some categories. CityAuction is owned by Ticketmaster.

eBay (ebay.com) This site has millions of items at auction all the time. It allows you to buy or sale your own merchandise. Registration on eBay is free. Merchandise is placed at auction by individuals or businesses. Auctions last 7 days, although some last 3, 5, or 10 days. Most items sold are single quantity although some auctions are for multiple items -- these are called Dutch auctions. Once an auction is won, it is up to the buyer and seller to correspond and arrange payment and shipping. eBay itself never has possession of the merchandise -- it only acts as the auction host. Users can leave feedback about one another, and in this way you can determine if a buyer or seller has consistently been prompt and business-like in his buying or selling. eBay began as a site for Pez collectors and has retained a collector's bent since it's beginning, even though it's offerings new include such diverse items as mobile homes, jewelry, and computers. If you're looking for a unique item or a collectable, eBay should be the first place you look. eBay has the widest variety of any auction on the Web.

Excite (auctions.excite.com) This site is also patterned after eBay in many ways. You must register to buy or sell. Excite supports an "AutoBidder" similar to eBay's proxy bids. One difference in the Excite auction is the use of the extended end-of-auction feature. This means that if there is a bid within the last ten minutes of the auction's end, then auction is automatically extended by another ten minutes. This prevents "sniping" and allows live bidders to continue to bid against one another until all but one gives up. Excite began as a search engine site but it has grown to include a number of shopping links, chat rooms, and financial resources.

Yahoo (auctions.yahoo.com) This site is second only to eBay in terms of the number of users and variety of items offered. Yahoo used its popular search engine site to tap into a large market of users, resulting in a large and well-run auction site. One way that Yahoo differs from eBay is that it requires that sellers enter a credit card number in order to be able to sell. This additional identification for sellers is meant to be a deterrent for unscrupulous dealers. Yahoo has great search capabilities and a list of categories only rivaled by eBay.

Specialized Internet Auctions

Earthwalk Auctions (earthwalkauction.at.edeal.com) -- Buy things and help plant trees.
Guitar Auction (guitarauction.com) -- Auctions for used, new, and vintage guitars by Martin, Gibson, Fender, Takoma, and others.

Just Glass (justglass.com) -- Specializes in glassware.
Pottery Auction (potteryauction.com) -- Specializes in American art pottery.

Teletrade (teletrade.com) -- Features fine art and collectibles and both online and phone-in bidding.
Antique Photography (antique-photography.com/auctions/)-- Vintage, antique, and fine art photography, equipment, books, and ephemera. Photographica for collectors, dealers, museums, galleries, and institutions.

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