Bring Out the Gloves - Yahoo Versus Ebay
Written: Mar 05 '00 (Updated Apr 26 '02)
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The History of My Opinion
I cannot even remember how I found eBay. I've been on it now for over a year. When I did find it, I was obsessed with it. I loved it. I walked down memory lane, looking for all of those toys from my childhood. It was a challenge to do a search on something rare. I think that there might have one or two times that I couldn't EVER find what I was looking for.
Yahoo Auctions was something I discovered shortly thereafter. I have had a yahoo mail account for a couple of years, so it was a given that I would eventually visit this site.
What is Yahoo and eBay?
Yahoo Auctions and eBay Auctions are two of the most popular websites where you can participate as a buyer and/or a seller of new and used products.
The Websites
If you have a Yahoo email account or if your browser is automatically set up to pull up the Yahoo Search Engine, then Yahoo auctions is a click away. The auction page is not aesthetically pleasing. Although "organized" in some sort of way, there are multiple distractions. Pictures of various auctions are displayed at the top. Categories take up two thirds of the page. To the right is a grayed out column containing information on how to bid and sell, charity auctions, and an auction tour.
eBay is fairly easy to find through any search engine. The home page has that somewhat cluttered feeling but it is more pleasing to the eye than Yahoo auctions. A tool type bar is located right at the top, and you could ignore everything else going on below that if you wanted to.
Who Wins? eBay
Browsing and Search Engines
Yahoo auctions is somewhat of a pain to search through. You do have the option of searching by word/phrase, by buyer or seller name, and by auction number. These features haven't always been around. It is a nice addition though, especially if you spend a lot of time on Yahoo auctions. The categories are set up in a somewhat logical manner. It's not too difficult to find what you are looking for.
eBay allows you to search by keywords and phrases, by seller and bidder, by completed items, by international auctions, price range, categories, and regions. Only want to see auctions that are in their gallery? Great, you can select that option too. It's fairly easy to browse any category. There are so many sub-categories that you could get lost easily! The upside of that is that it is much easier to narrow down what you're looking for.
Who Wins? eBay
Signing Up
It takes about two minutes to sign up through Yahoo. They ask very few questions - basically all you're doing is creating a user name and password, and they ask a couple of interest type questions.
With eBay, they want to know your personal history, including blood type <g> - only kidding about that! They ask more detailed info including your full name and address. Think you're done? Nope! Before you can actually perform any transactions, you have to wait for eBay to send you a confirmation email with an access code. When you plug that baby in, you then have to sign your life away - you agree to this, that and everything.
Who Wins? Yahoo
Fees
Gosh! Not a difficult choice to make. Yahoo auctions is absolutely free! List as many auctions as you want. Heck! They even have a Bulk Loader tool to help you do this. You could choose to incur fees by having your auctions "featured". To do this, it's an option you select when you first add your auction and fees are 25+ cents depending on the length of your auction and how often you want it featured.
eBay is the Master of fees. Need to sneeze? That will be $2.00 <g>. Seriously, there are fees for listing your auction (anywhere from 25 cents + depending on the value you originally place it for), there are fees for certain categories like a reserve auction and any tickets. Want to feature the auction? Cha ching! Want to make the title bold? Open that wallet.
Who Wins? Yahoo
Selling Your Item
Because eBay has so many more users, you are most likely to have more people viewing and bidding on your auction. Yahoo has a limited audience, mostly because it doesn't have a sole purpose in life (i.e. only serve as an auction site) like eBay does.
Who Wins? eBay
Feedback
With eBay, I have never, ever had an issue with a seller following through on the transaction. Why? I think a lot of it has to do with eBay's policy of requiring valid credit card numbers on file (as of 10/99) and the excellent way the members police themselves with the feedback that is left on an individual member. Chances are, I'm not going to bid on anyone that has a (0) feedback and I definitely won't bid on anyone with a - number feedback.
Yahoo provides a good method for feedback however, due to my security concerns (see next paragraph), it's difficult for me to trust any feedback on an individual.
Who Wins? eBay
Security
Yes, I know I dogged eBay earlier for its sign up process. That's true. It's time consuming and cumbersome. Here's another truth, that process is what makes eBay more secure than Yahoo. An individual is less likely to go through all of those steps unless they were serious about the buying and selling of items.
With Yahoo, I recently became aware of a scam that was going on through its auction website. Some guy had set up multiple fake ids, listed auction items for each, had each bid on them and win, and then they all left raving feedback for each other. When it came time for this person to list more auctions and REAL people bid on them, he took their money and ran. Yahoo's response? Sorry. eBay has a guarantee, based on certain restrictions, and they will refund up to $175 of your money in cases of fraud and misrepresentation.
Who Wins? eBay
The Overall Winner?
If you're a seller, it's a toss up. If you want quick turnaround on what you're trying to sell AND it matters that buyers follow through on their commitment, then eBay is the clear winner. If you want to sell things at a leisurely pace, try Yahoo.
If you're a buyer - hands down, eBay is the winner. Their reputation is unbeatable and the chances that you'll end up with a great end product are much higher than with Yahoo auctions.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
kristinafh
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Member: Kristina Frazier-Henry
Location: Indiana
Reviews written: 1344
Trusted by: 1169 members
About Me:
Cannot breathe. Missing Barbara.
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