eBid

What we liked:
At eBid, you can browse more than 950,000 auctions across thousands of categories using a straightforward navigation system. The powerful search facility, with its range of refinements, lets you find what you want quickly and easily.

Particularly useful is the Buddy Points system, which lets good eBid citizens earn points by a variety of means, such as recommending friends, getting positive feedback and using the BuyNow option. There are also lively forums where hints and tips sit alongside good-natured auction plugging. It may seem draconian that there are warnings about not artificially inflating your points balance and that eBid makes random phone calls to check you’re a real person, but ultimately such measures serve to reassure.

We liked eBid’s relatively simple payment system, whereby listings are free but there’s a standard three per cent final value fee and then a series of subscriptions (from seven days to a year) that avoid fees entirely. We also appreciated the wide range of auction types – including gallery, featured, front page, 60 minute and happy hour – and that the delivery charge was listed under the bid or buy price in the main listings, making it easy to calculate the total cost of an item.

How it can be improved:
It would be great if eBid could encourage sellers – particularly those hawking DVD box sets – to quote realistic prices for their auctions. The Wanted-items section needs better promotion and the size of some site icons should be increased to improve their visibility.

Our verdict:
This excellent auction site is an impressive – and still expanding – eBay alternative. It gives industrious sellers the chance to earn decent money, thanks to its relatively low charges.

Reviewed: Issue 193 (31 July - 13 August 2008)