As mentioned in my last post the new eBay policy of limiting payment options to Paypal and credit card only has caused quite a stir. And not only from sellers in the discussion forums. PayMate, which is an Australian version of PayPal has strongly criticized the move to exclude them as a payment option. Ironically, eBay Australia helped to launch Paymate back in 2001, and as Paymate rightly argues, their system is just as safe and transperant as PayPals. In fact, they argue, their system is possibly a better option as it has received less complaints, though I’m not sure that number of complaints is a reliable indicator as the Paymate system is probably not as widely used as PayPal . Anyway, Paymate is circulating an online petition in the hopes of generating enough signatures to make eBay rethink their position. If you would like to add your support click here.

Good news for Oztion.

The discussion forums are boiling with anger from sellers who are now threatening to boycott eBay and move their business elsewhere. The main beneficiary of this, it seems, is Oztion the Aussie auction site.

Here is an excerpt from their latest newletter:

In the last week only, new member registrations have increased by a fantastic 165% compared to the week prior. New seller registrations have rocketed by a massive 300% in the same period! We have also been impacted by a 30% growth in new listings, thus providing our buyers with greater choice and even more unbeatable bargains.

source: Oztion Newsletter April 2008

Up till now, Oztion whilst growing in member numbers has not really had the buyers to really rival eBay as a good alternative. If you are selling items via an auction format it is essential that you have people bidding on your item, and in my opinion I don’t think that Oztion can rival eBay in terms of the numbers of bidders.

Should you join the migration?

This mass migration of sellers to Oztion is great for Oztion, but it does not necessarily mean that the site is going to attract more buyers. What is going to happen over there when the market gets flooded with all this new merchandise but it still only has the same pool (or maybe a slight increase) of buyers as before? It will become a buyers market that’s for sure. I would suggest that if you want to pick up some great bargains then you might want to head on over there. But as a seller, I would still suggest that your best interests might still be served by sticking with eBay. Just think, now there are less sellers, hence less competition but the same amount of buyers. This should thus translate into more bids, higher final sale prices for you. Whilst all the other sellers are packing off somewhere else you can be the one still supplying the buyers (who are not really affected by this policy change) with your products.

Research and go where the buyers are!

However, there is also nothing to say that you cannot sell on both markets. As Oztion grows with more quality products, then over time it stands to reason they will attract more buyers. But I highly suggest that you do your research, see what prices similar items are selling for on both markets and make your decisions accordingly.
Visit Oztion and see what you think.

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