Not Satisfied With iOffer? Here Are 6 Online Auctions Alternatives For You

iOffer provides an interesting system of online trading that deviates from conventional practices. Employing a “negotiated commerce model”, iOffer is not just a digital hub where sellers place their items for auction, but a place where buyers and sellers can negotiate before settling on a deal, a system that is prevalent in flea markets and garage sales. And that has been its appealing quality for a number of online merchants and direct sellers.

But not all people prefer iOffer’s system and would rather go for a traditional setup of online bidding. And if that is your cup of tea, then perhaps the six online auction alternatives to iOffer listed below should interest you.

#1 eBay

The obvious number one choice. One of the few sites that blazed the trail of internet-based auctions and digital markets, eBay provides an array of auction features that many sellers will find useful. From a buyer’s standpoint, eBay offers loads of products listed in the auction block, ranging from clothes, jewelry, classic cars, high end antiques, and rare collectibles to name a few.

#2 ShopGoodWill

If you want to participate in an auction and help your brethren at the same time, then perhaps a trip to ShopGoodWill should be  a consideration. The site offers a vast selection of products slated for the auction block, from consumer electronics, athletic gear, and home appliance among others. And the good thing about ShopGoodWill? Huge portions of their sales are used to help people with disabilities.

#3 Listia

Not your typical auction site, Listia employs a rather creative and unique way of bidding that many of its users find interesting. Instead of placing bids using cash, users bid using “credits”, which they earn by selling their own merchandise and by referring friends and family to the site. Once a user places an item for auction, other users then bid for it with their credits. No cash is ever involved.

#4 uBid

If you are looking for branded items that you can get for a few bucks, you might want to try uBid. Majority of the products placed on auction there are leftover items from the inventories of big brands such as Dell, Sony, etc. If you are fortunate enough, you’ll get more than what you plan to pay for.

#5 GovDeals

The US Government also engages in auction with its online auction arm, GovDeals. Typical products placed at the auction block are government surplus such as heavy equipment, office and home furnishings, confiscated personal properties, unclaimed vehicles, and foreclosed government properties.

#6 Property Room

There are lots of good stuff that the our law enforcers confiscate on a daily basis. And what happens to the stuff they seize at work? The police places them on public auction. The items they usually sell are the legit kind, so drugs and things of similar nature are not included. But if you are looking for electronic gadgets, vehicles, jewelry, watches, and cameras, then Property Room should get you covered.

By Allan Jay

Allan Jay is FinancesOnline’s resident B2B expert with over a decade of experience in the SaaS space. He has worked with vendors primarily as a consultant in the UX analysis and design stages, lending to his reviews a strong user-centric angle. A management professional by training, he adds the business perspective to software development. He likes validating a product against workflows and business goals, two metrics, he believes, by which software is ultimately measured.