There is no question that online auctions, such as eBay, provide a great marketplace for products, with very small advertising costs involved, but too often, business people are limiting themselves by only using eBay for their online auctions. In fact, eBay has become so popular in recent years that many marketers tend to forget that there are other online auctions that are available to them – offering yet another market for their products or services.

Many people don’t use eBay, for a variety of reasons. Instead, they like to shop at other online auctions. By limiting yourself – and your product – to eBay auctions, you are missing out on sales to this group of people. You would never consider placing your ad in just one ezine, or a banner on just one website, or sending out just one sales letter. Why should you limit yourself to just one online auction? You shouldn’t.

UBid, at ubid.com offers seller’s an alternative to eBay – or an addition to eBay, as the case may be. UBid does not charge listing fees; however, there is a commission that must be paid on products that are sold through uBid – when the sale is made. They may not accept Paypal, like eBay does, but you won’t need a merchant account either, because all payments go through uBid, and checks are mailed out to merchants every two weeks.

Another popular online auction is Auction Fire, at auctionfire.com Again, there are no listing fees, and Auction Fire only charges a 2.5% commission on the final sale of an item, not including shipping and handling charges. You do not need a merchant account to list items at Auction Fire, however, to become a verified seller, you must provide credit card information that matches your registration information. This is how they verify that you are who you say you are.

Yahoo also has an online auction, and there are no fees at all. However, you must provide your own way for the buyer to pay you – a merchant account, paypal, checks, and money orders are all acceptable forms of payment. You also must provide credit card details to ensure Yahoo that you are who you say you are, and that you are of legal age. While the fact that there are no fees is attractive, Yahoo doesn’t seem to offer much in the way of protection for either the buyer or the seller, but it is a feasible option for small ticket items. Visit Yahoo Auctions at auctions.yahoo.com

These are just a few of the online auction possibilities that are open to you. EBay may be the most popular, but it isn’t always the best option for the seller – and it certainly isn’t the only option!

Drop me a line with some feedback on which you prefer and why.