Ebay’s Live, Private and Adult Auction Formats

December 8th, 2009 by admin

The standard auction formats for Ebay are the regular auctions and the Buy It Now auctions. With a regular auction you simply bid and wait for the auction to end. Buy It Now auctions have an instant purchase and may have more than one item for purchase.

Three lesser known auction alternative formats that you should know about are the live, private and adult auctions.

1. Live Auctions

Just like a traditional auction that uses a live auctioneer in front of a buying audience, you can attend an auction online and participate in real time. Items at these auctions may be rare and expensive items such as art, coins, furniture, memorabilia, jewellery, etc. You may also find rare signed documents from historical figures, movie stars or sports heros.
Google Search for a good guide to explain how to use this type of auction. You will need to register ahead of time to join the auctions at ebayliveauctions.

2. Private Auctions

Private auctions are like regular auctions except that the seller has chosen to hide the bidders identities, so that they are known only to the seller.
Private auctions are mainly for buyers who have a need to keep their usenames hidden from other auction buyers.
- Buyers may be uncomfortable buying a certain item such as an adult item and do not want other buyers to know their identities.
- Buyers do not want others to snoop on their Ebay records while they are in the bidding process.
- Buyers may not want anyone to know their financial status especially when purchasing high priced items.

3. Adult Auctions

These are auctions restricted for adult items only. Buyers must meet certain conditions to view and buy from these types of auctions.
To view or bid on adult item a buyer:
- Must be 18 years old
- Must have a valid credit card
- Must agree that they are voluntarily accessing restricted auctions.
As a seller in the adult auctions category you must be aware that your listing will be hard to find.

Using alternative auction formats for your Ebay auctions may help if you cannot or will not post a regular listing. You may even consider a combination of these formats in your listing.