It’s great to see the little guys, in any marketplace dominated by a near monopoly, thinking outside the box and coming up with something new. 

The UK’sAuctions-united is a “young” competitor for eBay and the others, but they are already showing promise as a site that means long-term business.

Like many sites looking to build visitor traffic and user base, they operate an affiliate program. In the case of Auctions-united, this is done throughthe clixGalore affiliate network, which has it’s own board in the BuildaSkill forums, and they have introduced some new twists to using affiliate and banner linking. 

These are in addition to their scheme of using their own on-site currency, called CyberCash, as the payment route for services purchased.  Just joining the site gets you a £25 CyberCash Registration Bonus to start you off, and they also also give you a £25 Referral Bonus for introducing your each of your friends and family, plus others who may click through from your links.  Whether you have an existing web site of your own, or are thinking of owning one, joining Auctions-united (with a free in-site store) brings several attractive advantages.

For high volume listers, their price of 1-penny to list an item, and just 1% final sale fee commission, with up to 1 whole year durations, it’s easy and cost effective to build a catalogue of your goods or services on their web space. But all of the above is just “routine” stuff also available on other sites. It’s the list of other schemes and promotions that brought them to my attention today…

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