Quick Tip: One shared feature to nearly every auction site out there, is they all charge a fee in some form or other, and most often to the seller. 

Make sure to understand these fees- they add up quickly and can make or break a seller's success...

Buyers almost never pay fees in online auctions, but some specialized houses do have a buyer premium: 10% is the industry norm.  These fees do vary, so research before you place a bid!

Keep in mind, many sites fall into several different categories!

C2C  Auction Sites (Consumer to Consumer):        see all C2C sites

A website specializing in consumer to consumer (person to person) auctions, where individual sellers and buyers deal directly with one another. The 'auction house' merely acts as the agent in the sale.  This is the standard type of auction site that everyone usually visits; ebay and epier.com are prime examples of C2C auction sites.

Ebay is the largest such example of a C2C site.

Amazon Auctions and Yahoo Auctions are the next largest competitors in the C2C sites.

Epier.com is the newcomer to the bunch, and although like most other auctions, it can't even come close to the size of ebay based on number of sellers, bidders and volume of daily auctions. It did catch our attention due to it's low fees- There are no fees for listings, only a final value fee.  We, as sellers ourselves LOVE low fees, and we'll keep an eye on epier.

The previous examples are also considered 'sell-side' auctions, as opposed to a buy-side or reverse auction (see below).  This is because the offer is being conducted by the seller, and the bidder responds.

Read our in depth article about ebay here

Read our complete review of epier.com here

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How a C2C auctions work:                                    see all C2C sites

Sellers list items for sale, and they are responsible for setting a price, taking pictures of the item, writing an auction description, listing the item on the auction site, tracking the auction, contacting the high bidder, sending feedback and finally, packaging and shipping the item.

Buyers are responsible for sending payment in a timely fashion, and must use their own good judgment and the feedback system at the auction site to protect themselves from auction fraud

The Feedback system protects both buyers and sellers, and is the lifeline of online auctions- with it, some sense of credibility about the other party is readily available, since the buyer and seller are almost always strangers to each other during the sale. 

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B2C Auction Sites (Business to Consumer)     see all B2C sites

Business to consumer auction sites are one of the fastest growing segments of online auctions.  All manner of businesses use the online auction method to sell items from their catalogs and inventories- established brick and mortar retailers and new web ventures alike reach out to customers looking for a great deal.

Most of these auction houses sell retail items that are being liquidated to make room for new inventory- Also, many of the B2C business involves office equipment and technology items, which tend to become obsolete quickly.  This forces companies to dramatically cut costs on items that were "must have" gadgets just 6 months ago!

One of the more popular B2C sites is Ubid.com.  They sell pretty much everything, but technology, multimedia, cellular and other gadgets are plentiful here, all nicely discounted.

Another site that rates mentioning in the B2C lineup is Bidz.com.  They specialize in jewelry auctions, and have three minute auctions which really create bidding excitement due to the immediacy of the sale.

These are also considered "sell-side" auctions, as opposed to a "buy-side" or reverse auction.

Slow sales periods for retail brick & mortar stores traditionally occur during the summertime, during economic downturns and right after holiday periods.  These can add up to real deals for the patient online buyer with a sharp eye at many B2C auction sites!

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