With the recession looking set to stay for a while, many people are now using auction sites to sell off their unwanted items instead of letting them sit for another year in the garage, or to buy items for a cheaper price than they are available on the high street. Many shops and department stores now use online auctions as another avenue for their sales and will pass on the lower costs of retailing in this way to their customers. There are many auction sites in the UK where you can sell your unwanted items including, but not limited to, eBay and ebid.

eBay

eBay is an auction site that runs in over 35 countries and is probably the most well known and well used of all the auction sites in the UK. They charge a listing fee each time an auction is started and a final value fee every time an item is sold. The hardest thing about selling something on eBay is the choice between an auction style format and a buy-it-now price. Multiple, identical items can be sold together in one auction, called a Dutch auction. Sellers can start an auction in a different country from where the item is, but will then have to manage posting it to there once the auction is over.

Ebid

Ebid runs in over 25 countries, is also very well known and has a solid following of people enjoying lower selling fees than eBay. EBid works in generally the same way as eBay with a feedback system to allow sellers to build up a good reputation. The advantage that EBid has over eBay is that it has an adult section, found under the group of “Whatever’s Left”.