After a minor delay past the originally announced launch date, UK auction site eBid rolled out their new look this month.

Visually more modern than the old site appearance, with little discernible effect on load time, the bright, fresh, new look is sure to appeal to buyers who’ve never visited one of the company’s 18 country [...]

The eBid monthly newsletter arrived today, thin on real news other than a few seller and listing metrics.
The site now has -

2,418,875 Live Auctions
6,788 eBid Stores Live

Both these numbers are flagged as new highs, although eBid’s old problem (of sellers moaning in forums about lack of sales) seems to be resurging again, and I guess [...]

It all started off with a forum thread that snowballed into what the ebid.net community are now calling “ebid Aid“.  Charity auctions are running right now at eBid.net to raise cash for victims of the disaster.
eBid.net members are auctioning off anything and everything to raise money for aid agencies helping those affected by the horrors [...]

Established person to person online auction site eBid.net announced (Boxing Day) a cash award of $3,000 for the successful seller that lists the three millionth individual item on its site.
In only three months, following its US launch, eBid has grown listings by 74% and, on December 9th, awarded seller Huddylion, seller of the two millionth [...]

An email that hit my inbox today, tells of a new Amazon UK offer, no doubt timed to reinforce their lead over eBay UK in terms of delivery value.  I’m not sure if this is a global offer, the email only talked about the UK site.
They announced that they are significantly reducing the minimum [...]

The July newsletter from UK-managed auction & stores network eBid is in, and the achievements are impressive.

The site hit the critical-mass one million active auction listings during July and are correctly trumpeting it proudly – this moves them from the “small fry” into the “big fish” pond, and leaves self-proclaimed competitor TazBar flapping in the shallows. Of course, eBid still have a long way to go to catch up to eBay or even some of the middle tier US-only sites, but with a million listings in the search engine results, it’ll drive traffic, sales, and additional listings. That’s something the site are pushing hard for, with twice monthly uploads of the whole (eligible) inventory database to GoogleBase certainly helping, with a reported 25% increase in GMV, month-on-month, between May & June 2008.

All of which leads to the question, “Is this geo-specific lock-out the result of too many eBay refugees dragging with them to eBid, their constant xenophobic moaning about Oriental vendors and the Eastern pricing they cannot compete with?”

The eBid offer includes a free lifetime Seller+ account, and the ability to import previous Bidville feedback into their new eBid accounts. The Seller+ account includes free listing and final value fees and would normally cost $49.99. Sellers will still need to validate themselves via a credit card test transaction that does not make a debit from the card.

QXL UK have given up the fight against eBay – unable to acquire sufficient traffic or members, they are closing down at the end of May 2008.

eBid’s newsletter for May has arrived. Seems they’re seriously benefitting from the eBay defections, with US listings increased to 800,000 and total listings having surged past the million

eBay UK’s crusade, to bring Business and PowerSellers inline with eBay’s vision of the future for the site, has left many gasping for breath and incredulous at the way in which eBay has tried to extend existing UK legislation – the seller address details on all listings, and the new 14-day returns policy for example. That 14-day returns policy has however, opened a few eyes to deeper details of existing UK consumer protection legislation, and in my case brought some old eBay announcements back to the forefront of current ruminations ….

If what vzaar and eBay are telling us, is true about video in listings, then it’s time to up your game and have some fun at the same time. (Yes, you did read that right – eBid has, for several months already, had a facility for you to put your YouTube videos into auctions on their site.)

This month sees the switch from being reliant on Commission Junction (CJ) for management of their Affiliate Marketing scheme, to taking it in-house with the eBay Partner Network. Last month’s announcement was full of hype and spin about improved benefits and flexibility for affiliates, but already long-standing CJ members are complaining of being refused admission to the new Partner Network.

As the eBay policy hammer repeatedly flattens sellers on the anvil of compliance, what choices do sellers have, and are the alternative venues ready to take up the challenges of mass influxes of disenfranchised eBay users? Or does the unpreparedness of alternative venues mean that the nomads will drift back like prodigal sons and daughters to eBay’s punishment school?

Going completely against the grain of reasoning from their larger competitor, UK-based Auction site eBid.net have found both buyers and sellers want full feedback transparency.
Revealing some statistics, that were not surprising to eBay sellers enraged by the January 08 policy changes announced at the eBay eCommerce Forum in Washington, the normally publicity-shy eBid management have [...]