Auctions

Online shopping

Advantages: flexible
Disadvantages: Hold

...than prices in Europe). Amazon.co.uk are very similar, but based in the UK, so if you're ordering from Europe you'll find the postage quicker and cheaper. Last time I looked they charged £1.95 plus 50p per book for shipping to the UK, more elsewhere. Some titles are only available from Amazon.co.uk who will ship anywhere in the world. ...

boen_82 24.09.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of Amazon.co.uk Marketplace

A great idea, but is it a great service?

Advantages: Good way to declutter or grab a bargain.
Disadvantages: Non-existent customer service.

I have been using ebay now for longer than I'd like to admit and yes, it does have its advantages. There is the excitement of bidding on items, the freedom of shopping from home without restricting hours and the opportunity to grab a bargain. But is it always a bargain? I'd like to say yes, but I fear, not always. I have bought so much stuff on ebay that has either ended up back on ebay or in a charity shop. Is it really worth it? Is one man's junk ...
...to grab genuine bargains. For example, I just sold a 100% silk top to the value of £40 for only £5, so someone out there has got themselves a great buy and I have cleared some space from my cupboards. It's also great for finding things which are difficult to get a hold of, retro stuff or car parts or whatever you may need- it's probably on ebay. Plus, you can sell your junk you no longer need and get some cash for it, great! Thankfully, ebay operates ...

Bojack 06.11.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of ebay.co.uk

Ebid

Advantages: Cheaper for buyers and sellers.
Disadvantages: Fewer buyers but that's changing.

I've been a seller on Ebay as warspite20 for years and have got very fed up with the continual policy and fee changes that appear to favour the buyer but in fact push up costs for sellers which is passed on to buyers. I have been forced to turn to Ebid as it is simply uneconomic to list dropshipped items or anything with small margins on Ebay unless you are one of the really big boys. I sold a boat on Ebay for a couple of hundred quid and by the ...

Warspite20 03.09.2009 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of ebid.co.uk

Hidden extras

Advantages: Many items are excellent value for money
Disadvantages: the additional costs take the edge off your bargain

I am not too happy with some of the happenings of these channels. The fact you can only buy one item at a time (or pay P&P and call cost) on another phone. They boast a money back guarantee but they fail to say it doesn't include your P&P. I recently had to return a very cheap item because they sent the wrong size, even their invoice confirmed the size it should have been, but the label on the garment was a size smaller. I called and said I expected ...
...to date I only have the cost of the item, so they have their wrong sized goods back to sell to someone else and I'm out of pocket by £15:00 as I had to pay to return the goods as well - not such a bargain after all. The speed auction is also questionable because they seldom have a clock to show how much time is left - I have seen the auction go on for several seconds after the presenter has said time was up - this leaves it open to higher bidders ...

Tattylashes 06.09.2007 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
Review of bid-uptv.co.uk

QXL IS GOING DOWN (qxl.co.uk, qxl.dk)

Advantages: i like the new designs
Disadvantages: auction listing charging

QXL IS NOT GETTING MUCH VISITORS ANYMORE I THINK THEY ARE GOING OUT OF BUISNESS. I HAVE NOT USED QXL FOR A YEAR I PREFER EBAY.CO.UK OR THEFASTBID.COM I HAVE NEVER REALLY LIKED QXL. I like qxls design but also with ebay i don't think the sites should charge so much for listing especaily ebay they charge so much when they don't need to they have loads of customers and don't need to have there fees as high as they do same with qxl. To improve qxl i ...

nero5 24.11.2008 · Read full review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful
Review of qxl.com