Using Ubid Auctions to Bid & Sell

The online auction house uBid was founded in 1997, near the very beginning days of the internet auction trend. Today uBid is a part of Petters Group Worldwide, and they describe the auction site as "the Brand Name Marketplace". They are a classic example of a successful B2C (Business to Consumer) auction, where manufacturers and distributors can sell closeouts and new merchandise alike.

Most auctions start at $1, and you can get great deals here- mainly on electronics and computers in the uBid "Superstore". You can find prices close to that of other wholesale auction houses*, the main difference is you can buy a laptop or a digital camera at up to 70 percent off, according to Ubid, instead of having to buy a whole truckload of them!

So what is Ubid... An auction house or an ecommerce site? Well, both actually. So how is uBid differ from ebay? Well, although you can find B2C sellers & stores on ebay, you will find them readily available and consolidated under one roof at Ubid. And the merchandise is top notch- you know the sellers have been screened by uBid for quality as part of their Certified Merchant program (see Ubid for Sellers, below).

The Ubid superstore makes finding what you want very easy. And since they tend to list similar items over and over, you can find good deals without having to beat every other bidder on the planet to the punch.

Just do your homework as a bidder- Some times they have great deals, but you don't want to get caught in a bidding war and end up shelling out more than you would if you were to just buy the item at an e-commerce site or traditional retail outlet. Browse some of their "auctions ending this hour" and see if you spot the types of items you want to buy. Then, maybe check a few other sites, and if the price looks right, come back in for the deal.

Looking for a Sony Vaio? Well, if notebook computers are your thing- or any kind of computer for that matter, look no further than uBid!

Here's the types of items where we noticed the most deals at Ubid: computers, electronics, hardware, software, digital cameras, desktops, laptops, servers, monitors, Iomega zip drives, etc. Notice a trend? Yep, whether you want a 1.4 GHz paperweight, or a 3 GHz and up multimedia monster, Ubid is known for its great deals on computers.

Some of the top manufacturers we noticed for sale were: IBM, Compaq, hp (Hewlett Packard), Micron, Dell, Toshiba, etc. Many of the computers listed were by top of the line makers, although they were slightly older models (a few months to a year or more).

In the consumer electronics area, we found relatively low prices and plentiful inventory on DVD players & televisions- from LCD units to traditional flat display models. Digital camera and camcorder deals were also plentiful.

The selection of DVD movies for sale was the one area where we were very disappointed. Surprisingly, titles were practically non-existent across the board in all genres. For online DVD buys, we recommend you stick to the mack-daddy, 800 lb. gorilla (ebay).

We found lots of auctions for jewelry and luxury watches. Prices were all over the place, because Ubid sells everything from costume jewelry to fine wedding rings. You have to know your stuff, but some of the brand name and designer watches offered appeared to be great buys.

As with all auction sites, we found many deals for travel auctions- but as always, be wary of any program where you aren't bidding for the actual travel (travel vouchers, certificates, etc). See our article about travel auctions for more info or just go to Priceline.com.

At uBid, you'll find bargains across many consumer categories, to be sure. But the bottom line is this: for great auction deals on consumer electronics and computers from a reliable online auctioneer, think uBid!

Real Customer Service

To help facilitate sellers and make orders smooth for buyers, Ubid has a one million square foot distribution center, and a 250 seat customer care call center! How many other auction houses can say that? Does your auction house offer customer service... or "customer NO service"?

We feel the call center is a nice touch, as it helps make prospective bidders want to become buyers... and that's good for everybody in the auction biz!

Can private sellers sell on uBid? Yes and no. You can sell items if you become a Ubid Certified Merchant (UCM).

According to ubid, the program is "for small to medium size businesses to expand their marketplace" and is "a cost-effective, turnkey solution for businesses wanting to sell products in a dynamic environment where the marketplace sets the price in an uncluttered sellers environment."¹

Basically, what this means is that you have uBid handling much of the deal for you as a seller. For instance, they handle the credit card payment processing, which is an area of order fulfillment that many sellers would just as soon leave to someone else.

The advantage to their UCM method, is that sellers don't have to become expert webmasters or become involved in the backend part of the auction transactions... "uBid administers all credit card processing, fraud prevention, initial customer inquires and sales reporting. In addition to the technology, merchants benefit from uBid's advertising efforts, driving qualified, auction-friendly customers directly to the merchants products."²

Matt Battles, Manager of uBid Certified Merchants states that "The uBid Certified Merchant Program creates an alternate channel for businesses to sell. Whether [they are] looking to move merchandise online or testing new product development, we will accommodate their needs in a hassle-free, cost-effective nature".³