3 Unusual Formats For Auctions On eBay

eBay users are accustomed to only two "standard" formats fornsales on eBay: either the 'regular' auction which involvesnbidding and waiting; and the Buy It Now, which is an instantnpurchase.

But there are three other formats that are less well known.

1. Live Auctions

Before eBay, the traditional auction included live bodies innchairs and an auctioneer up front (talking so fast he wasnfrequently unintelligible). Any buyer can still participatenin these live auctions via eBay. Live auctions are a hybridn- a buyer is 'sort of' present in a live setting yet is atnhome using an Internet connection.

The products for sale are usually expensive and unusual.
There are such items as expensive and unique coins, Asiannart, Native American artifacts, incredible jewelry, costlynfurniture, memorabilia from major sports stars and evennhistory. Today, for instance, there are documents signed by
John Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, James Madison and Ulysses
Grant (he confides that he was strenuously opposed to then"wicked" war with Mexico).

If you choose to participate in a live auction, be certainnthat you register first because you can't just drop in on anwhim.

2. Private Auctions

Private auctions are similar to the typical auction thatnwe're all familiar with except for one detail - thenidentities of the bidders are kept secret. Only the sellernhas access to the names.

Why would anyone create a private auction? It's usually fornone of three reasons:nn* The item is quite expensive and buyers might benuncomfortable having others know they can afford suchnmerchandise. Their concern about their financial status isnmost likely misplaced because it is quite possible tondistance yourself from eBay contact information, but much ofnselling is about perception.nn* The buyers might be embarrassed by the nature of thenmerchandise.nn* Some sellers habitually use private auctions to make itnharder for their competition to snoop on them.

3. Restricted Access Auctions

This is usually for sales of "adult" items. The main purposenis to prevent children from seeing this kind of merchandise,nand is similar to having covers on racy magazines at storencheckouts.

To bid on these items, the buyer must:nn* Be 18 years oldnn* Must have supplied credit card information to eBay. Thentheory is that no one under 18 can get a credit card andntherefore cannot get into these sections.nn* Agree that he is voluntarily accessing restricted accessnauctions

In addition, restricted auctions are excluded from thenFeatured pages. So if you are a seller using this format,nyour listing will be harder to find.

Even though they are less well known, these three formatsnfor auctions on eBay still account for tens of millions ofndollars in sales each year. If they suit your businessnmodel, you might consider themn