Thread: what determines your decision to register to buy on auction sites

How many auction sites/marketplaces are you signed up with (as a buyer).

Do you prefer to just use one that is familiar or would you consider signing up with multiple sites like amazon and ebid so that you have more options than just ebay?

There are so many potential security leaks that I'm terrified of signing up for different websites, particularly the smaller ones that are not clear on their privacy policies or can provide some guarantees.

Seems silly since you never hear on the news about the little mom and pop store that had their credit list stolen, but there you have it.

For auction sites, I've only used ebay. I have an amazon.com account, but I only use it to buy from amazon.com

I would prefer to go to a retailers site and buy directly from the website than to use an auction site. I understand that it often increases a seller's profit, but I'm a big fan of instant gratification.

Originally Posted by jesennia

How many auction sites/marketplaces are you signed up with (as a buyer).

Do you prefer to just use one that is familiar or would you consider signing up with multiple sites like amazon and ebid so that you have more options than just ebay?

I dislike opening accounts on multiple online areas, and if there is a particular vendor whom I want to buy from, I really detest having to check multiple areas to see all the merchandise that vendor is offering. (For example, Geisha Moth sells on tribe, ebay, yahoo groups, her own web site, and now etsy. It drives me nuts having to check all these areas just to find out whether she's offering a particular size/style that I'm looking for.)

I have opened accounts in the past on ioffer and isell, but ONLY because there were a couple of products I wanted really, REALLY badly and those were the only places the vendors sold through. I have not been back to either of those online areas since buying the specific items I was looking for.

If buying retail merchandise, I really don't like buying from an auction site at all. I don't particularly like the bidding process, and I don't like waiting for the damned auction to close. I want to just "buy it now" and be done with it. It's really annoying to monitor it for several days to check whether someone else has come along to outbid me.

Please, make it simple to buy from you. Just list your products on your web site and let us use a "buy it now" process to buy them.

I feel *exactly* the same as both of the responses above, except I've never wanted anything badly enough to register on another site.

I agree with everyone above also. I stick to ebay, bhuz, and individual websites.

I have an ebay account and an amazon account but not for auctions. Other than that, I go straight for the sellers website.

Ditto - I use ebay and have an amazon account for buy it now items. If an item from a specific seller isn't on these places or their website, I'm not going to register with a million auction sites. It's not worth it to me.

There is no clear front runner to take Ebay's place since their latest changes are causing sellers to jump ship, so until the next Ebay comes around, I'm not changing my ways. (I do realize that things won't change until we all register someplace else, but I don't want to be an early adopter.)

I'm with all of the above. Call me old-fashioned, but although I like buying online very much, I find that sites like ebay 'feel' like they are arms length and that unsettles me. I know that you can deal directly with vendors over ebay but for me the whole site and system has a 'lowest common denominator' thing going on that makes me perceive it as a bit dodgy.

Plus you have to deal with Paypal. Having been up hill and down dale with them over the last few years both as an individual account holder and as someone who works part time for an e-business Paypal are rarely in my good books.

I've heard excellent reports of Etsy from all my friends who have used it and I might be tempted but I do like websites where I get plenty of straight-up information and straight dealing.

re: security, my ebay acct has been hacked into twice now, once just a few days ago. I don't trust the security of ebay anymore (never really did)

I can see from a buyers standpoint it would be easier to have items all in one web location.

As a seller I'm trying to expand to different marketplaces and hire different people to run those stores..

thx for feedback

I really don't like signing up for multiple places. I have been an ebayer since 1999-ish when it was young and empty and haven't had any problems with them or paypal as of yet. I probably wouldn't sign up for another auction site at this point, but am always happy to purchase direct from a seller's website. To be honest, if I find something on ebay I usually do a google search to see if the seller has a separate website that I can purchase from.

I just mainly do eBay and seller's website. I had a problem with Amazon a fews ago, and I've been reluctant to use them again. I used my PayPal card to buy a CD. It never came, so I called them, and another one was sent out. A few months later, I got several "transaction was declined" messages on my PayPal account. When I went to the Amazon website to see what they were, there were several orders for books, that I hadn't placed.

I called Amazon and they tried to tell me that I did it. Luckily, I don't keep any money in my PayPal account, the only time that there's any money in it is when I selll something on eBay. It's a good thing that it wasn't my debit card! So I'm really reluctant to use Amazon for anything.