Thursday, July 20, 2006 - Fuck Ebay - here are some 80 + alternatives to Ebay...:)

(feel free to steal my logo and stick it in any other Hate Ebay site, an acknowledgement would be nice tho')
80+ Alternatives to
"That" Company
LIST UPDATE: 25th December 08.
First off - Skip Stormpay - the shits have rigged the URL of THIS page,
http://www.blognow.com.au/fuckebay/24012/Fuck_Ebay_-_here_are_some_80_alternatives_to_Ebay.html
To their page.
http://www.blognow.com.au/fuckebay/24012/www.stormpay.com
They also have LOTS of solid bad feedback on here:
http://www.paypalsucks.com/forums/showforum.php?fid=19
and here:
http://www.getpaidforum.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=425781&st=0&p=4253234&#entry4253234
Anyway - their site seems to have gone tits up from scamming a LOT of people - and deservedly so.
Storm Pay are arseholes....
OK back to this site and the latest update:
It's a real challenge to make something absolutely right the first time;
So the best ways to improve things are to:
1. To make improvements and changes.
2. To delete, remake or eliminate the defects or difficulties.
The sites I have listed are composed of a variety of sites.
The best online vendor / auction sites ones are the ones that are developed from scratch and the worst ones generally are the bought and paid for PHP coding - what I call the lick and stick websites.
Why? Because you learn more from the intricate planing, networking, constructing and the technical, financial and customer service sides of the development - or the hard work = the development of a real business, instead of just cutting and pasting code into a website = instant online auction.
And the people who invest lots of hard work and time into developing a buisness - tend to apply lots of effort into the provision of services and the retention and expansion of their customer base - through the commitment and dedication required to get it all going - and to keep on growing it.
They have to provide a service - in order to gain a return on their investment.
The owners of the lick and stick sites, don;t invest much and they don't care that much about the quality of service and whether it holds together - either.
I also am of the opinion that life is short, time is valuable, and if you want to EARN an income, then you had better be doing what it takes to earn the income.
By this I mean if I make an inquiry and you are getting paid to provide this service - I expect to be able to make this as easily as possible, and I expect you to provide it as promptly as reasonably possible.
On a person note - I am not putting up with bullshit websites that expect me to create an account, to do all the verification (however limited) and to be responding to emails etc., just to ask a simple question?
That just may be answered by some fucking genius - eventually? - if ever?
After doing this several hundred times through many of the "Ebay Alternatives"; I am no longer prepared to get endless drill down menus, pointless email replies that say nothing.
I mean shit service is the Ebay default setting - and many of the rest of them, simply consider copying them or that costs over ride customer service.
I also don't think you should have to have your time wasted by poor quality service providers either.
Just because they are an "Ebay Alternative", doesn't mean they are a GOOD or EXCELLENT alternative to Ebay.
So I am going through this entire list to increase the numbers of good to excellent Ebay alternatives and to delete the crap Ebay Alternatives.
For the Online Auction Providers who want to get put on this list - there are SIX requirements you need to meet, before getting put on this list.
1. Your customer service has to be excellent, easy to access and staffed by real people - I'd be prepared to accept a HELP YOURSELF page, but that would have to be followed by a real CONTACT US webform, phone number and postal address.
The reply would also have to be done by a real human being - with NO formula emails.
2. Preferably one ought not have to actually have to set up an account, just to make an inquiry.
3. You have to be offering or allowing a RANGE of NON Ebay / NON Paypal payment options - including direct deposit, cheque, credit cards etc.
4. The Internet Site must be a registered company, with a registration number, a street address and postal address and operating - with it's banking system in it's own country of origin - With non of this Whitman and the Ebay board of directors - tax dodging Swiss bank accounts.
5. The sites should also have a 24/7 customer service phone number and a either a live chat and or an email service.
6. All the sellers and buyers must be verified.
7. And there must be a reliable and prompt method in place to hold sellers of fakes, stolen goods and ID theft or Stolen Credit Cards etc., to account.
And the results of these efforts must be on public display.
This is now a premium service - I have personally verified that these sites at the very least DO provide upfront service and are worthy of your time and consideration.
(this list is under revision and you will be notified when the changes are complete.)
THE 80+ SITE LIST
I have these sorted in two lumps...
The first lot are Australian sites...
The second lot is the rest of the world....
The third bit - is for sellers of online Auction Services....
Australian Sites.
http://www.itchee.com.au/
http://www.allbidders.com/
http://www.your-bid.com/
http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites.html
http://www.sellbidandbuy.com
http://bang4bucks.com.au/
http://www.oztion.com.au/?OID=auauctions
http://www.graysonline.com.au/
http://www.oneway-au.com/
http://www.auctionbidz.com.au/
http://au.ebid.net/
http://www.bidmate.com.au/
http://www.dola.com.au/onlineauction/auction/xcAuction.asp
http://www.pickles.com.au/
http://auctions.ozfreeonline.com/
http://www.lawsonsonline.com/
http://www.carauctionssydney.com.au/
http://www.interbid.com.au/
http://www.ozebid.com.au/
http://www.bailiff-sheriffaustralia.com.au/_otherpg/auctions_main.php
www.empireauctions.com.au
In the rest of the world sites, I was most surprised when contacting all of the sites to see if they wanted input on the ACCC investingating Ebay in Australia, about their trying to force all people to ONLY use paypal; to find that alot of the sites, either seemed to be owned by the one company and or be using the exact same range of "purchasable" online auction site templates.
I came across this:
http://www.cqout.com/press.asp
20...Why use CQout rather than one of the many 'free' sites? New online auction sites pop up all the time as part time ventures by hobbyists using 'out of the box' auction sites with limited 'back end' management capabilities that serious sellers require. Most last a few months with a few hundred items listed, then vanish once the operator realises the huge amount of 'behind the scenes' work necessary to regulate and manage a live online marketplace. The strategy of others seems to be either to offer a loss leading 'free' service to build up their user-base with the intention either of introducing selling fees once they have achieved critical mass (at which point, the users vanish because all they really wanted was that free service) or to offer that free service in the hope of being bought out (unlikely in the post-dot.com era): both of these models are unsustainable. Any responsible online marketplace has to take hour by hour care of its security, its customer service and its connectivity: all these need a real person at the helm, and that has to be paid for. CQout's nominal registration fee pays for the verification work needed to identify and deter fraudsters and scammers. Our free listing and 'no sale, no fee' policy means that customers only reward us for success. There really is no such thing as a free lunch.
The Rest of the World...
http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites.html
http://www.bonanzle.com/
http://www.adflyer.co.uk
http://www.mystore.com/shop.php
http://www.altectrader.com/
http://dealtent.com/
http://www.usauctionslive.com/
http://www.trademe.co.nz/
http://www.specialistauctions.com/
http://www.treasuresales.com/
http://www.powersellersunite.com/auctionsitewatch.php
http://www.bidville.com/
http://www.moaas.com/
http://www.onlineauction.com/
http://www.overstock.com/
http://www.ioffer.com/
http://www.wagglepop.com/bin/Auction
http://www.auctionquests.com/
http://www.blujay.com/
http://www.plunderhere.com/auction/cgi-bin/Auction
http://www.qxl.com/
http://www.webidz.com/
http://www.hibidder.com/
http://ca.ebid.tv/
http://us.ebid.tv/
http://www.ecrater.com/
http://www.mightybids.com/
http://wensy.com/
http://www.ubid.com/
http://www.intershopzone.com/
http://www.auctionaddict.net/
http://www.auction-warehouse.com/
http://www.quickbargin.com
http://auction.overstock.com/
http://ubidright.com/cgi-bin/Auction
http://www.tazbar.com/
http://www.epier.com/
http://www.ioffer.com/
http://www.ecrater.com/
http://www.cqout.com/
http://www.ebid.net/
http://www.onlineauction.com/
http://specialistauctions.com/
www.ebid.net
www.bidville.com
http://www.hibidder.com/index.php?
http://www.vintagevalue.net/
http://www.froggiebid.com/
http://reallysmartdeals.com/
http://www.99usa.com/
http://www.buyselltrades.com/
http://www.ukbidsaway.co.uk/
http://www.liquidation.com/index.html
http://www.oltiby.com/
Git Yer Own
Online Auctions..
http://www.worldwideauctiongroup.com
As always, when making considerable investment in any venture, service or product, or even a minor investment, - always check up on the people or companies, before you hand over or sign up too anything.
Just because the service or business or product appears real, doesn't actually mean they are.
Check things like is the business actually registered with a registration agency or government department in that locality.
Is there lots of flack on the web about them scamming people etc.
Do they have easy to find contact details?
Is there actually any person on the phone - do they sound "like a business" or an idiot (that may or may not talk nicely - like me)?
Are your shit detectors working? What are your feelings?
Are there lots of little red flags waving around?
When they say simple shit like, "We are a reputable company - established for donkeys years etc"...
How come they only have a web form and don't list a business address? (simple enough)
If they are a reputable professional person or company, why are they using a freebee email account, instead of a "company email account".
You know: The "reputable" Nigerian Lawyer...
"honest-brother-king-of-nigeria@free-email-service.not-nigeria.email-address"
And are you dumb enough to ignore them?
Just sus it all out... and use your brains... really honest and professional people and organisations, don't have sloppy omissions and the are upfront and accountable.....
Suspect things are dodgy, they have "odd or discreet to glaring omissions", things don't quite add up....
If you have an online auction website that you want me to link too, by all means, let me know and for a small annual fee I will.
But you have to make the grade - and if you do - I will put it up for you.
Yeah so like I said...
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