eBay.com (US) ....V ....eBay.co.uk (uk) - The fight is on

eBay.com v eBay.co.uk

Karen Mills ©2004

If you have been a web surfer for a long time you will of noticed that when you click on a domain with .co.uk you are redirected to the domain .com . The .co.uk is a mere link to the main site .

eBay is different . ebay.com and eBay.co.uk are two total independent sites but which are interlinked . It can make a big difference to your auctions and the fees you are charged depending on which site you use .

To Begin

Open two browser windows and in one type http://www.ebay.com and in the other http://www.ebay.co.uk .

You will see them appear on your task bar at the bottom of the page and you can switch from one to the other by clicking on either one or the other .

eBay.com is the US site and eBay.co.uk is the UK site .

Homepage

The first noticeable difference you will be aware of is they look totally different .
The homepage of the US site eBay.com is a lot more basic than the UK site . It gets straight down to business showing tips on how to buy and place a bid on an auction as well as the bet way to pay for item won . The UK site leads you more into a browsing situation which suggest to me that ebay sees the Uk citizens as more of a cautions bunch and unlikely to jump in with both feet first .
If you go to the eBay.com site , in the top right hand corner you will see a button "eBay members click here" . Click this now you will notice that both sites now look more or less the same .

Looking to the left of the screen you will see the categories section . These are more or less the same except for spelling and terminology differences between the US and UK . Clicking on a category link will take you to the section that interests you where you will find the sub categories within that section . The only difference between the two sites in this section are that the US site provides extra information such as what the most popular searches are . This could be helpful to sellers looking to categorise their goods in the best section .

At the top of the categories section on eBay.com (US) you will see a separate box titled "specialty sites" . On the eBay.co.uk (UK) you will find it at the bottom titled "see also" .

This is where big differences occur .

Half.com (US)

You will see on eBay.com but not on eBay.co.uk a link to "Half.com by eBay" . eBay acquired Half.com early last year who sold goods, often from overstocked inventories, at discount prices in a move toward becoming more competitive with e-tail giant Amazon.com, especially in its core book, music and video segment. . The fixed pricing format (BIN) had proved popular with customers, and eBay hoped to adopt it along with its open price auction method .

eBay Live (US )

Started in 2002 and now an annual event , ebay live gives its users a rare opportunity to come together in person, celebrate with one another and build lasting relationships. This is not advertised on the UK site , maybe eBay do not want the Brit's to attend .

eBay live Auctions (US)

This is only available on the US site . The Live Auctions feature opens traditional auction houses to a worldwide audience on the Internet through the eBay site . These type of auctions differ from a traditional eBay auction in many ways .

Live auctions presented by auction houses not individuals

Live Auction items are referred to as lots

After registering as a eBay user, you must sign up for each individual auction.

Auctions have two phases preview and live

Before placing bids, people can browse auction house catalogs for upcoming sales

They can then place their bids before or during a live event.

During the live phase, you may participate by bidding or just watching.

Auctions accept two types of bids: absentee bids and live bids.

Bids placed beforehand--absentee bids--are sent to the salesroom during the auction

The total cost of a lot won equals the final cost of the lot plus the shipping charges, buyer’s premium, and sales tax (if applicable).

Most sellers (auction houses) do not have shipping departments and the buyer may need to handle shipping through a 3rd party company.

Going Going Gone (UK)
Although this feature is available on both sites it is far easier to find on the UK site . Going Going Gone allows you to view all the auctions ending within the next 5 hours . To find the same feature on the US site Click on "Site Map" at the top of any eBay page and scroll down to where it says "ending first" . Click this and you will find thousands of that are due to finish shortly .

These are a just few of the differences you can encounter within the two different sites . If you are thinking of running some of your own auctions on eBay or even setting up your own business as a seller make sure you choose the correct site . You can learn more by going to the web site http://www.uk-dropshipper.com/

This is a "Shareware" Article
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This article is shareware. Use this article for free on your site, or include it as part of any paid package as long as the entire article is left intact including this notice. Copyright © 2004 karen mills