Auction Sites - You Can Find Deals!May 25 '00 Write an essay on this topic.I have been purchasing goods from auction sites for over 6 years. I bought my first item from Onsale for about $12. It was a blender. Initially, it didn’t work. I called them and they credited my account. I tinkered with it over the next few months and it started to work. I still use that blender. Since discovering Internet auction sites, I have purchased everything from a computer – Onsale, a chair – First Auction, a digital video camera – Ubid, and many other household items and gifts. More Info about Online Auctions You should know that there are auctions out there for everything – wine to travel to computers to household furniture to clothing to sporting goods. In every auction I have participated, all bids accepted are final. Once the bid is accepted, you can't change your mind. You can only hope you're outbid. If your bid is the winning bid, the company sends an e-mail notifying you and then your credit card information is verified. If the information is correct, your account is automatically billed once the item is shipped. I have not used e-bay or any other auction where individuals post items for sale. I like the idea of having recourse against a company if anything goes wrong. There are different types of auctions: Yankee, Dutch, etc. Each site describes the process for the different auction types. Usually, the auctions work as follows: there is an item (or several identical items) up for bid; there is a minimum bid set by the company (or vendor selling the item); you place a bid; your bid is listed on the site; the auction closes; the highest bid(s) wins. Most sites have a feature that allows you to bid automatically. You enter the maximum amount you are willing to pay for an item. As you are outbid by others, this service places another bid for you until you win or the price exceeds your set maximum. You are charged the winning bid price, a shipping and handling charge, and sales tax (if it applies). The sites usually place items up for bid that have been factory refurbished or are new. The auction page usually indicates the status of the item. I have gotten refurbished items and have had very few problems. New items usually come with a manufacturer’s warranty, and some refurbished items have them as well, but for less time. Before I bid on a large ticket item for a new site, I always test the site by placing a winning bid for a less-expensive item. If I am not satisfied with the item or if I never receive the item, I am not out of much money. If the site works out, I will buy more expensive items from them in the future. I have not had any major problems with any of the sites I have used. Below are my thoughts on several of the most popular sites. Onsale.com/Egghead.com I have been using Onsale.com long before they went public and were bought by Egghead. This is the best auction site out there for computer equipment, in my opinion. I purchased my Sony 522DS desktop computer (see Epinion), my Iomega Zip drive, my Motorola PC Card, various software titles, a trip to a resort in Ojai, CA, and my trusty Krups blender. Onsale has many categories to choose from: computer products, travel, sports equipment and household electronics. They have Express Auctions which occur throughout the day and only last one hour, multiple-day auctions which generally last two days or more, 24-hour Yankee auctions and Smart Deals which allow users to purchase items directly without having to bid. The opening bids for large ticket items vary, but can start very low, unlike some sites that auction off computer products and other expensive items. The customer service is excellent and they respond immediately. They can be reached by phone, at the site or via e-mail. Ubid.com I have been using Ubid.com for several years. Ubid has many categories: clothing, computer products, sporting goods, electronics, travel, and more. I bought a certificate that provides me with two cruise tickets for the price of one. The package also contained many coupons for discount air travel. The package only cost $55, but I used the coupons to buy plane tickets and saved over $100! Money well spent, if you ask me. Ubid has auctions that last for an hour. There are very good deals here, if you’re willing to be patient and if you logon late at night. They also have traditional auctions that last for several days. The opening bids are very reasonable, like $1-9 dollars for many items. The most recent item I won was a JVC Digital Camcorder that I researched here on Epinions before bidding. I was pleased with the price of the item, but there was a problem getting it to me. It seems that Ubid didn’t have my correct credit card information. It took them over a week to contact me, via e-mail, about this. I tried calling, but to no avail. I was on hold for 45 minutes one day. They finally updated my information and shipped the item to me over 2 weeks after I won the auction. The other problem I have with Ubid is that the shipping costs are never definite. Instead of one price, they provide a range. This may seem like a good thing, but shipping is always at the high end of the range. I like some certainty when I bid, but you don’t really get that here. Other than these two issues, it is great and has a huge selection of items to bid on. First Auction First Auction is a great place to go if you want home furnishings. I recently bid on 2 chairs with ottomans and paid under $90 total, after S&H and taxes. These same chairs sell at IKEA for almost $200 each! What a bargain! First Auction has 20 30-minute flash auctions everyday. These are great! They have electronics, jewelry, furniture and other items during these auctions. The regular auctions run for 48 hours. First Auction has a wide variety of items to bid on: computer products, clothing, electronics, gifts, health and beauty items, jewelry and sports items. I have ordered many items from First Auction and have always been pleased. The customer service is great and the site is backed by the Internet Shopping Network. The opening bids for most items are between $1 and $9. The opening bids on the larger ticket items usually start much higher. Other auction sites worth checking out are: www.bid.com - computers, electronics, etc.; www.goinggoinggone.com - travel; www.auctionmax.com - computers, electronics, etc.; www.dealdeal.com - computers, electronics and other new categories.  |
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