FAIR SHAKE

Hi, I'm Chrissy from Cornwall UK & have been searching the web for UK auction sites. I have made a list of the sites I have found & over the next few weeks I hope to study each one & post my findings here. However, I will not be able to visit FS next week as we are busy with a friend's wedding, family visitors, etc, so will try & post any info as soon as I can. In the meantime I have pasted below the list of auction sites. Please note that apart from one or two I have not checked these but they appear to be a mixed selection of general & specialist sites. I have posted in the next message details for www121bid.com. Please use as a guide only & after studying make your own mind up. Obviously many are new sites. Hope this helps:

CQOUT AUCTIONS – www.cqout.com
EBID AUCTIONS – www.uk.ebid.net
BIDZ JEWELLERY AUCTIONS –www.bidz.com
QXL AUCTIONS – www.qxl.co.uk
TAZBAR AUCTIONS – tazbar.com
AMAZON AUCTIONS – www.amazon.co.uk
SPECIALIST AUCTIONS – www.specialistauctions.com
FLOGITALL AUCTIONS - www.flogitall.com
DEALGATES AUCTIONS – www.dealgates.co.uk
AVABID AUCTIONS – www.avidbid.com
ONEWAY UK AUCTIONS – www.oneway-uk.com
PRELOVED AUCTIONS – www.preloved.co.uk
VIRGIN WINES AUCTIONS – www.virginwines.com
SIMPLY BIDDING AUCTIONS – www.simplybidding.com
AUCTION AUTO TRADER – www. auctionautotrader.com
AUCTIONAIR AUCTIONS – www. auctionair.co.uk
BIDEASYNOW AUCTIONS – www.bideasynow.com
GB AUCTIONS – www.gbauctions.co.uk
121BID AUCTIONS – www.121bid.com
LAST MINUTE - ZERO BID AUCTIONS – www.auctionfinal.com
BUMBLEBEE AUCTIONS – www.bumblebeeauctions.co.uk
BIDZ AUCTIONS – www.plunderhere.eu
WORLD3BID AUCTIONS – www.world3bid.com
AUCTIONS UNITED AUCTIONS – www.auctions-united.com
BIDORSELL AUCTIONS – www.bidorsell.com
OK 2 BID AUCTIONS – www.ok2bid.com
AUCTION1 AUCTIONS – www.auction1.co.uk
UK BIDS AWAY AUCTIONS – www.ukbidsaway.co.uk
EBOSH AUCTIONS – www.ebosh.co.uk
BID2 AUCTIONS – www.bid2.com
5MARKETPLACE AUCTIONS – www.5marketplace.com
BULLNET AUCTIONS – www.bullnet.co.uk
INTERNETBID AUCTIONS – www.internetbid.co.uk
TOTAL BIDS AUCTION – www.totalbids.co.uk
DREAM AUCTIONS – www.dreamauctions.com
ARMCHAIRTRADING AUCTIONS – www.armchairtrading.com
AUCTION-DIS AUCTIONS – www.auction-dis.co.uk
BIDU4IT AUCTIONS – www.bidu4it.com
ENERGYBOOK AUCTIONS – www.energybook.co.uk
LGG AUCTIONS – www.lggauctions.co.uk
WALES AUCTIONS – www.walesauctions.co.uk
EZUKBID AUCTION – www.ezukbid.com
THAT1BID AUCTIONS – www.that1bid.com
AUCTION DEMON AUCTIONS – www.auctiondemon.com

Hi Everyone

I posted the information below in another FS section for auction sites but as it relates to a UK site I have pasted it again here:

'As a UK seller I am searching the web for UK sites on which to sell on. As I find one I am making notes for reference before I decide. So I thought if I was doing this I would let you guys know the basics of each site I find. One of the sites I found today was 121bid.com. Below is some key points which may give you a rough idea of what it offers:

121bid.com

''121Bid is a genuine 100% FREE auction site. This means- ''

''No charges to List items for sale. No Final Value Fees. No HomePage Featured Fees. No Category Featured Fees. No Reserve Fees. No Buy It Now Fees. No Fees to Highlight an item.
No Fees to list an item in Bold. No Fees to list Wanted Ads. No Fees to Swap an item. No Fees to use Photos in listings. No Fees to Open a Store. NO CATCHES or GIMMICKS !
No Fees ! ''

''Fair Listing Policy''

''As 121Bid is a 100% Free Auction Site we have had to come up with a few rules to stop some Sellers spamming our site with duplicate listings.

With immediate effect members listing identical items at identical prices must list them as Dutch Auctions ( more than 1 item ).
Members can still list their items in more than one category so long as the category is relevant to the item/s being listed.

Members who are already in contravention of our "Fair Listing Policy" will be given 4 weeks from today ( 06.03.2008 ) to have their listings rectified before any action is taken.

Failure to comply with this will result in the erroneous listings being deleted and suspension of the member concerned.
( The reason for suspension is that it is quicker for us to have all of a members listings terminated by suspending the member rather than having to delete each of the members listings individually ).

We have had to impliment the above rule to ensure that everybody has a fair chance to Freely advertise the items they are selling.''

FEEDBACK: It appears to use a 1 to 5 Star Rating system
HOME PAGE: Site News, Top Sellers, Featured Items, Recently Sold, Newest Members
OTHER: Members Area, Wanted Adds, Forum
PAYMENT METHODS ACCEPTED: I couldn't seem to find a section that specifys this but sellers appear to offer paypal, cheques & postal orders as payment methods.

I read the Terms & Conditions & one part concerned me, pasted below:

'1.13PAYMENT OF COMMISSION TO 121BID
Each Seller in a transaction for which a Winning Bid notice is issued shall pay 121Bid the agreed upon commission based on the final sales price for the asset in question. Such amount shall be paid to 121Bid within thirty (30) days of invoicing by 121Bid.'

So I contacted 121bid.com re. above & I got a quick reply, which was:

'Re T&C 1.13, In the beginning 121Bid did charge Final Value Fees, however we discontinued with this practice some time ago, we do not, and will not be charging fees !'

I also asked about payment methods & they replied:

'At the moment you can use PayPal, Nochex, Google Checkout and various other online payment processors. It is your choice which, if any, payment processor you wish to accept payments by. We are not affilliated with any of the payment processors.
Please login to your members area to see which other processors we currently use.
If we can be of further assistance please do not hesitate to contact us again.'

I will say that I am impressed with their quick response & the fact that they actually answered me direct. What I have seen up to now I like & it is, at the moment, top of my list for consideration. I have also checked the 'Newest Members' section on the home page & there appears to at least 3 to 4 joining each day. Doesn't sound a lot but at least people are.

I also asked them about digital download. Pasted below is their reply:

'It is not against any of 121Bid's policies to sell Digital Downloads, eg E-Patterns.'

Hope this helps.....

Hi Chrissy - Thanks as always for your thorough information. We appreciate you putting this out wherever it can be found by those who need it. You've done a lot to educate and update us on the events over there in the UK, and it's very much appreciated.

Debbie

My pleasure Debbie....I am interested & very concerned with what is going on so if I post anything that I find re. ebay, auction sites, etc, especially for the UK, then hopefully it will help someone else...Hopefully will be back within a week....Chrissy x

Chrissy--not only is your information helpful for people in the UK who may visit our site, but ALSO, for the many in the US who have sold on eBay to many countries. My eyes are just now being opened to how prevalent this has been. We truly are in an era where it is a "world economy", and the changes that are taking place at eBay have a worldwide effect, even if eBay is making changes in different ways in different countries. We definitely need to join together and share ALL knowledge with each other.

Auction sites that cater to a number of countries will definitely have an important place in all of this. However, I have just spent several hours on the phone with someone who sells internationally, and is having a hard time sorting out what changes eBay is making in other countries, since they are not informing her of those changes, even though she is a seller there. She, like many other international sellers, will need to research the best alternative options in several countries.

Thank you so much for your research, and for taking the time to share it with everyone here. Many of the plans for Fair Shake have not even had a chance to begin, but I firmly believe that all input of this nature is laying the groundwork for further research and feedback that will be helpful to MANY.

This is what some people do not realise is that as a new ebay policy is implemented in one country it has a knock-on effect internationally. I have sold worldwide & have tried to keep up to date with what is happening. We are all guilty at times of staying in our own safety zone but what annoys me is when some sellers/buyers have the attitude of 'It doesn't affect me, so'...I had this last week in the post office when I saw a friend of mine who also sells on ebay. When I asked her opinion about what she thought about the changes with ebay, especially with Australia she just shrugged her shoulders & said it wasn't her problem. I appreciate people's opinion & the fact that they are happy on ebay or have no choice but it would be nice to at least see some compassion for those not so fortunate.

I have posted in the news section an article I found recently. It may already have been posted but I have done so anyway. It's re. Ebay Live Auctions, another change that will effect some ebayers......Just because a policy change doesn't effect all of us doesn't mean to say we should ignore it

There are many sellers/buyers who are confused by what is going on & need guidence & support, especially so after May 1st.

I believe that we should all be able to make an informed choice & I will try & help with that. There are going to be many changes & many more who have sat on the fence will also feel the impact. Ebay is not finished yet.....

Hi Chrissy -

I have never sold internationally, and have only bought a few items from an Israeli seller. But before January of this year, it never occurred to me that I would need to keep up with what eBay was doing in other countries. Without even knowing, I was burying my head in the sand. In fact, I had never even bothered to go on our own community boards here in the US but for a few times when I had questions. I was taken totally by surprise by all of this ... I've spent so much time the last 3 months educating myself, I cannot believe I was so ignorant of the facts.

It really DOES pay to know who you are doing business with. And I feel the same frustration when you hear, "Not my problem." Unfortunately, that's human nature. Eventually it IS their problem, and I'm afraid eBay will prove us right in that eventually.

Deb

Chrissie ..

You are doing a great job !!

I was wondering if many in the UK know about Fair Shake ..
You have a great resource for them here!
We had sold quite a bit internationally but have no contacts since it was so long ago.

And, thank you, Fair Shake, for affording this great opportunity !

Dee

Dee - Thank you so much for the compliment. We are trying to do all we can to provide as much useful information as we are able to gather. Every little bit will help someone at some point!

Chrissy - As always, you're dong a bang up job with keeping the information flowing! We sincerely appreciate you and all your hard work here at Fair Shake!

~ Deb

Hi Deb & Dee

Sorry for late reply but just got back from a break in Nottinghamshire plus busy with visitors. Really enjoyed it....friend's birthday, another's wedding, son's birthday, 1940's day, & much more. Weather really hot last 2 days....now back to reality...washing & more washing!!!!

Thanks Deb. Now I'm back I will catch up with everything & then start posting whatever info I find....Hubby's none too pleased. We arrived home earlier & he checked his ebay listings (I know but you know hubbies, they don't listen...lol..) only to find they had been removed...why?..because he sells radio codes & sends the codes by email...Now listen to this he now has to POST the code (the digits don't even use a quarter of a line!). So he now has to charge the buyer p&p costs plus use a piece of paper, enverlope, & stamp for a few digits...crazy I know...he even sells to europe, who is going to pay international postal costs (I did try to warn him this would happen!).....but this way paypal gets more money, nice one....but remember this is better for the buyer...NOT.....See, I'm only back a few hours & I'm already on my soapbox....oh I can't wait to get started...lol...

Hi Dee
Nice to meet you....I do not know if many in the UK know about FS, hopefully if not they soon will....I will be posting more info over the next few days.
I have always enjoyed selling internationally & had no problems. Also made friends with buyers/sellers overseas. But a seller/buyer can be good or bad regardless of where they live. I hope to list some items on 121bid this weekend/next week, just depends how long it takes to do all this washing, which reminds me I must go & put some in the dryer...If you don't hear from me by next week then I have been overcome by soap suds...LOL...Chrissy x