Top Australian auction sites

by salehoo_group - 28 Jan 2009

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eBay Australia is still the undisputed leader in online retail and ecommerce down under, but high fees and other problems have driven many of its users to seek alternatives. These other auction sites have their own issues to deal with, though. For starters, none of them even come close to generating the user traffic on eBay Australia, and most of them, at some point, have been stumped by the same problems that currently plague eBay.

But they do offer alternative options, and in many cases the reduced scales allow smaller sellers to be seen, while buyers are able to find really great deals for themselves.

Oztion “It’s Aussie for Auction” 

In terms of traffic, Oztion ranks a very distant second, but this eBay clone seems to be taking off steadily. There are hundreds of listings in each of the categories, and its membership base is growing at a rate of a thousand or so each month. Of all the Australian auction sites we reviewed, this one has the most rapid traffic growth. There are no fees charged for basic listing services, but Oztion does take a percentage of each sale. Options beyond the basics also incur a fee.

eBid  “Online auctions without the fees”

eBid is an international site with local versions available in 18 different countries, including Australia. This site gets a significant amount of traffic, has no listing fees, and takes only a small final value fee. The Happy Hour auction gimmick – 20 auctions running from 6-10 pm with no reserve – works well to draw in more buyers and is a great promotional tool for sellers. Like Oztion, eBid also has a rewards system for referrals, which is well worth checking out.

TradeMe  “Where Kiwi’s Buy and Sell”

This immensely popular NZ site is open to Australian sellers and buyers. Although shipping between countries can potentially be expensive, judicious item selection and opening a business account with your shipper means TradeMe is a very profitable selling platform for many Australians.

A basic listing free, but photos cost 55c (25c for books) and all listing upgrades cost extra. Success fees start at 6.9%  

Honorable mentions (i.e. traffic pretty dismal now, but hey – it’s free to list!)

 

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Comments

  • avatar

    fudjj

    Commented at 00:42 28 Jan 2009

    Not sure why Tradingpost.com.au wasn't mentioned, but it's well worth taking a close look at for aus advertisers.

  • avatar

    Bob

    Commented at 16:05 28 Jan 2009

    Another good option is SwapAce @ http://www.SwapAce.com.au - it is Aussie and it is totally free and it has some cool options like bartering

  • avatar

    sexijoseph

    Commented at 23:11 29 Jan 2009

    I joined salehoo a while back and have used their info to build a great part time business on oztion . I am the top sponsored seller with the best feedback now . EBay might have the numbers but I make more selling on Oztion than I would on eBay . The fee structure is a winner and the extra free selling aids are the best on the net .
    EBay buyers are looking for a cheap score but Oztion buyers are regulars and I have many who buy all year as I keep fresh items coming .
    It does take getting used to with the colour differences and the way the page is set but If you need help please feel free to contact me when u r there .
    I have help many new sellers and buyers navigate and become comfortable on this great site .

  • avatar

    wes davis

    Commented at 19:09 27 Mar 2009

    Spot on Fudjj,
    Tradingpost.com.au is the most widely used platform outside of Ebay.As an Aussie I have over the years sold multiple cars and parts and Playstations with great effect.

    Oztion I am yet to be convinced as I think its visitor numbers are inflated dramatically.Have used them a few times to compare for traffic and also listed same item on Ebay and Craigslist and each time Oztion auctions never pulled any visitors but sold on Ebay and Craigslist.Also know a couple of larger sellers on Oztion who are thinking of moving due to this same situation.

    Back to Trading Post though, it must also be said that Aussies know this platform extremely well and trust it as in many cases 99% of sales are done face to face.Ebay and others are not face to face selling platforms.Must admit to not hearing stories on Trading Post of people being ripped off accounts frozen etc....Hmmm....Why am I selling on Ebay ...lol

  • avatar

    Islandchook
    New SaleHoo Member

    Commented at 03:20 3 Jun 2010

    Oztion has its good and its bad, you can have things listed there and only pay the selling fee when you sell the item, Yeah it doesn't get as many people looking as say eBay however I have the same items listed on oztion and on eBay and I have had success with both.

    As for the Trading Post the answer is above, yes we have sold old cars and parts from the farm on both in the past 12 mths, it all depends on the item, it pays to look and do research before listing and also for the area where I live what time of the year as we are on the coast in a massive tourist area. And people do like traveling for miles to get what they want sometimes!

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