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Online auctions

Auctions - introduction

You can buy and sell pretty much anything on online auction sites. Sellers can set reserve prices, just like in an auction room. They may also specify buy it now prices, at which they'll close their auctions early. For traditional auctions, it's usually free to join and bid, with charges applying only to sellers. For reverse auctions / lowest bid auctions, the winner is the person placing the lowest unique bid. Here, it's usual to pay a fee for each bid that you place.

Online auctions - featured sites

eBay
The world's largest marketplace, eBay offers the option to buy and sell almost anything through fully-featured online auctions or optionally at fixed prices. eBay offers buyer and seller protection, easy payment through PayPal and helpful feedback scores. You can join and become active as a new buyer or seller in just a few easy steps.

More online auction sites (A - Z)

Auction Air

A different take on an auction site, Auctionair runs regular (highest bid wins) and reverse (lowest bid wins) auctions on a sealed bid basis. There are no buyers or sellers commissions - you instead pay a set fee per bid placed.

Bid and Click

Bid and Click auctions work on the basis that the lowest unique bid is offered the chance to buy at their bid price. Bids are placed in exchange for credits, which you can buy easily through their site. Items on offer range from iPods to brand new cars - there's always plenty to choose from.

New customers currently get 200 free credits; enough for a FREE bid.

eBid

This UK internet auction site has no listing, reserve, Buy Now or store subscription charges. Features include happy hour auctions with savings on featured fees and 60 minute auctions, which start hourly every day.

Flutteroo

Flutteroo is a pay-per-bid UK online auction site offering three types of auction: penny, buy it now and lowest unique bid. In penny auctions, bids increase item prices by 1p (and also extend the clock), with the last bidder winning the item. Each click on a buy it now auction reduces and displays the price, with the option to buy then or trying again later.

Swoopo

Swoopo offers fast paced online auction action with a twist, selling a wide range of brand name items for low prices. Each time a bid is placed, the item price rises by 7p and the auction timer increases to a maximum of 40 seconds. If no-one else bids before the counter runs down to zero, the last bidder wins!

The Next Bid

The Next Bid is a popular reverse auction site that offers the opportunity to win luxury and technology products in return for the lowest bid with a unique value. To take part in their lowest price auctions, you'll need to join and buy auction tokens, which are used for placing bids.