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Top Rated |
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$5.25% |
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Most Popular |
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$3% |
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$2.5% |
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$N/A |
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$12.5% |
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$3 |
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$49.00 |
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Online Auction Article
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Online Auction Safety
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We’ve all watched the news and heard story-after-story of the innocent online shopper taken advantage of by a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Let’s face it: when purchasing anything from anywhere on the Web, it’s wise to take precautions before we pull out the Visa and go to town.
Online auctions can be a great place to save money on a unique product inventory, but shopping on a site of this kind has its own set of safety rules you should be aware of.
• Read More
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Top Rated Online Auction
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eBay
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Overall Review: |
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We were very impressed by eBay and had no reason to believe we wouldn’t be. They pioneered the online auction and it shows. They, by far, offer the most categories and products up for bid on the Internet.
Their competition doesn’t even come close to their extensive product listings. We loved how simple eBay keeps their website, making it a breeze to navigate pull up search results.
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eBay Express – You can buy items from multiple merchants and pay for them using a single shopping cart and transaction.
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Next Generation My eBay-Streamlined and customized for your activity, reminders, & notes!
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eBay Countdown-Monitor your auctions with instant updates to the current bid/time remaining!
Star Reviews loves eBay and there are plenty of reasons why. The selection is stellar here, with everything you can imagine. While there is no buyer protection program, eBay is known for its buyer and seller feedback ratings, which usually tend to keep people honest. No one wants to be known as the community con artist. Placing a bid is simple enough and you'll be alerted through email if you're outbid or are the winner.
For you sellers, while the final value fee is a little high at 5.25%, understand that your chances of selling the most products on eBay are very good. That should offer enough incentive to sell those old videogames. Customer support was good all around, but there isn't any telephone support. For its huge selection while maintaining simplicity, they receive our Top Rated spot with 6.0 Stars!
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Most Popular Online Auction
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OverStock
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Star Reviews enjoyed browsing through the Overstock website, as it was very user-friendly and all important links were clearly displayed. It was reminiscent of Amazon, so navigation will be simpler for fans of that site.
We loved how many auctions you can bid on, as they range from your typical books and electronics to real estate and pottery. Talk about versatility.
Our team really enjoyed our time on the Overstock online auction. We felt as if we'd really find some great steals on here, and loved how diverse their selection was. You can even purchase real estate and acres of land on here, which shocked us. We definitely feel that Overstock offers the second most categories and products after eBay. Fees aren't too steep here either, with final value fees coming in at 3%, a pretty average price. We were disillusioned to see their customer support email and live chat functions fail us, as both did not really help us too much. But, when so many online auctions can overwhelm you, we liked how sane we felt on Overstock. For this, they fall into our Most Popular spot with 5.5 Stars!
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Online Auction Reviews
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Overall Review:  |
We must admit that we weren’t entirely in awe of the ePier website interface. It was very plain, with not a whole lot going on. But, searching for the perfect item shouldn’t be too difficult, as there are category links on the left margin and a search box if you know exactly what you want.
Ok, so this site isn’t eBay and they don’t have nearly as many listings or auctions for that matter, but we did find a few products in the specific searches we performed. We liked how easy it is for registered members to buy or sell, as the steps were pretty self explanatory and you are alerted by email if you’re outbid or win an auction.
Star Reviews applauds websites that try and offer a community feel, as it demonstrates their commitment to their customers. We definitely saw this on ePier with their social networking tool and real-time contact function. Searches shouldn't be too challenging on this online auction and we liked how low the Final Value Fee was, at 2.5%. There really wasn't a buyer protection program, so if you're wary of that type of issue, this might not be your best choice. Customer support was a disappointment, with non-responsive telephone support and absent email support. There were a few FAQs if you like to read...all in all, we assigned them 5.0 Stars!
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Overall Review:  |
Don’t expect the world at Online Auction. They offer a good amount of listings in various categories, but at times their auctions were a bit sparse. For those who enjoy frequent selling, you may want to consider if you’ll actually sell what you list.
We really liked some of Online Auction’s features, like their O-mail system, which makes your auction correspondences fairly easy to keep track of. We also loved the different auction formats you can buy and sell in, as this is unique in this industry.
Star Reviews thought it was odd that Online Auction brags of 7 million items up for bid, but it doesn't seem to show in their online auctions. We noticed how few search results we got for many of their categories. If you don't mind digging, then this site is for you. There are some seller's fees here, so check them out before placing a bid. The basic plan runs you at $8 per month, which isn't terrible.
We would have liked to see some form of Buyer Protection, but do understand that the offered feedback system was coined by eBay and is still a reputable means of avoiding fraud. Customer support by way of telephone and email were both efficient, which we appreciated after some of the nightmares we've face with other online auction support. We wanted to reward them with 4.5 Stars!
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Overall Review: |
All in all, we felt that uBid was a pretty good online auction. Despite having some of the worst customer service we’ve encountered in our online auction reviews, we feel their actual service is decent. You shouldn’t run into too many issues when navigating the intuitive website, as its interface was organized in a succinct manner.
We liked the search results we were provided and enjoyed how current winning bid lists and product descriptions were neatly arranged. For those of you who don’t want to bid in an auction, you can participate in ‘Ubuyitnow’ and directly purchase an item you can’t live without.
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Express auctions-30 minute auction times.
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uBid Travel Auctions
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Certified Merchant Program-Products sold by approved sellers, not just your average Joe.
Ok, so our team has to admit we had a good time browsing the uBid website. We didn't expect the world here, as we know it's not eBay. But, we were impressed by their number of categories and a majority of their selection. We loved the Buyer Protection Program and really commend uBid for screening their sellers for criminal activity. What a relief! There is also a great return policy, which any online shopper can appreciate. Customer support by email and telephone weren't stellar and one rep was a bit unfriendly, but all in all we think they deserve 4.5 Stars!
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Overall Review:  |
Ebid's online auction didn't leave us feeling hot or cold. We really liked their auction categories and the number of products listed, as they were quite extensive.
However, we didn’t really think their pricing scheme and membership fees were that understandable and the novice buyer or seller may run into some problems. Signing up for an account and placing/listing a bid are easy enough, so that shouldn’t pose too much of a burden on visitors.
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Happy Hour Auctions-No, no drinks involved. But, you can find great auction deals from 6-10 p.m. every night. How's that for extended happy hour time?
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'Wanted'-No one can read your mind & this feature lets you tag what you're eyeing, so buyers and sellers have a better idea of which products will sell when and to whom.
Star Reviews was not in awe of this online auction. Let's face it, they don't have the greatest selection and their buyer protection program is very limited. There are some confusing membership plans, which were a challenge to even locate. Final Value Fees will run you at 3%, which is fairly low for an online auction. While not boasting a selection up to par with eBay, there were numerous auctions going on in many categories we peeked at. Customer support was pretty much a disaster, so good luck if you need help. They earned 4.0 Stars!
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Overall Review:  |
We were really disappointed with the Bidz experience, all in all. Not only were they lacking a professional and succinct site feel, their selection wasn’t the greatest. There were tons of jewelry auctions going on, but in their other auction categories, there were definite holes in inventory.
We liked that they incorporate flash in their live auctions, as this makes for an exciting experience. But, the pages loaded very slowly because of this and we didn’t like how rollover images produced gigantic close-up images, as it was a bit distracting if we slid our mouse over the picture by accident.
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Get 10% off your first purchase when you register as a Bidz member!
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15-day money back guarantee
on all products sold through the auctions
Star Reviews thinks Bidz can improve their website interface by a longshot. We thought it was pretty elementary in its layout, which made the whole online auction experience kind of a hassle. While we did appreciate the Certified Merchants program, we felt that by purely selling goods from their own warehouses and certified businesses, it greatly reduces their inventory. We must note, the majority of items sold here are jewelry and watches. Look elsewhere if you like selection. Customer support was a nuisance here and we never received the answers we were looking for--from any of their support options. Overall, they get 3.5 Stars!
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