eBid reveal their new look

No primary category set

Long-time eBay competitor eBid announced a redesign this week. I love the clear, crisp new look in a neutral shades accented with orange, scarlet, turquoise and teal – close but not too close to the eBay logo. It’s all very easy on the eye, and viewers are drawn to the heavily-highlighted categories on the left, or to the gallery pictures of items ending soon in the centre.

If I have a misgiving, it’s about the accuracy of the headlines. “Free and easy”? It might be qualified with “No fee for listing items on eBid”, and paying only FVFs or a membership fee might be cheaper than eBay, but it’s never quite free to sell on eBid. If that’s misleading, the secondary headline is just silly: “buying and selling is cheaper with eBid”. Buying had better be more than cheap, it should be *free*! And of course, it is: it’s just badly written headline that really should be changed.

eBid’s newsletter also contains the good news that sales have doubled compared to four months ago:

…double the number of auctions are closing successfully as compared to November 2006. This is due mainly to the increase in advertising we have been giving to the site and also the positive word of mouth promotion that all our buyers and sellers are helping to create.

It’s a shame that there isn’t a more concrete figure here, because double one item sold would be two items… eBid really need to play up and trumpet every success if they want to bring new members to their site.

5 Responses

  1. Good review, I am sick to death of seeing Ebid scream about RECORD NUMBER OF AUCTIONS when in fact they have been going for about TEN years, so are about as old as EBAY but about 1/100th as big. Number of auctions is meaningless if nothing is selling.

    I think, speaking from experience – I used to try to sell on Ebid myself – that DOUBLE the number of sales may indeed be 2 x 1, which is why its unpublished.

  2. Ebid is now getting a lot easier than ebay to list on. Lot cheaper than the big site.

    As for more sales on the ebay site, for some sellers this is no longer the case since UK/US visibility by default was removed in Feburary, continous tests, changes, glitches. clustered sales. ( items going to certain geographic location both in the UK, Internationally.

    Buyers are also complaining that they find it more complicated to search out the items. The off ebay advertisements take buyers away from the ebay sellers items.

    The difference with Ebid is I do not pay high fees over & over for re-lists that have very little chance of a sale due to the above changes.

    There are some good ebay sellers that have moved to Ebid to sell their items.

    Items on Ebid are often offered for sale a lot cheaper than on the bigger site.

    Ebid do really need to push forward with a big advertising campaign, while there are so many disgruntled ebay sellers, buyers.

  3. Ebid in my humble opinion, is far superior in comparison with Ebay nowadays. My husband was an avid Ebay seller a few years back until it became too expensive.Fees are far less at Ebid.The site is very easy to navigate and finding what your after is a painless and quick process.

    I just wish more Ebayers would switch over or at least give Ebid a trial run

  4. Few eBayers would argue with that, Peanuts. However, the issue with eBid as far as I am concerned is that there are NO BUYERS. If you can find me half a dozen sellers who are making a full time living on eBid, I will happily move some listings over there and try it for myself. Oh, I won’t. You don’t yet have a French site. No, strike that, it’s the curse of eBid’s weirdo URLs. Their French site is at https://fr.ebid.net/ . And it’s apparently in English.

  5. As well as no buyers I’d have no serious competition on eBid which tells me stuff just doesn’t sell there. No point listing it if it’s just going to sit there – case in point, laser printers
    On eBid today there are just three, but that’s in a category spammed with toner and chips!

    Tazbar is just as bad with none! 😯

    When the other sites start getting buyers serious sellers will start listing. Up until them the sites are largely sellers buying from sellers and there’s just not enough business to sustain yourself. Sad but true.

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