3 Unusual Formats For Auctions on eBay

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

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

1. Live Auctions

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

The products for sale are usually expensive and unusual.There are such items as expensive and unique coins, Asianart, native American artifacts, incredible jewelry, costlyfurniture, memorabilia from major sports stars and evenhistory. Today, for instance, there are documents signed byJohn Quincy Adams, Andrew Jackson, James Madison and UlyssesGrant (he confides that he was strenuously opposed to the"wicked" war with Mexico).

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

You can find all the details here: http://www.ebayliveauctions.com

2. Private Auctions

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

Why would anyone create a private auction? It's usually forone of three reasons:

• The item is quite expensive and buyers might beuncomfortable having others know they can afford suchmerchandise. Their concern about their financial status ismost likely misplaced because it is quite possible todistance yourself from eBay contact information, but much ofselling is about perception.
• The buyers might be embarrassed by the nature of themerchandise.
• Some sellers habitually use private auctions to make itharder for their competition to snoop on them.

3. Restricted Access Auctions

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

To bid on these items, the buyer must:

• Be 18 years old
• Must have supplied credit card information to eBay.Thetheory is that no one under 18 can get a credit card andtherefore cannot get into these sections.
• Agree that he is voluntarily accessing restricted accessauctions

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

Even though they are less well known, these three formatsfor auctions on eBay still account for tens of millions ofdollars in sales each year.  If they suit your businessmodel, you might consider them.