Right now, in my opinion, the only sites worth selling on are eBay and Amazon. Simple reason: that is where the buyers are.
Any company wanting to create a marketplace could make an attempt, but the only one that I could see succeeding is Google. Remember, back in the day, Amazon also ran auctions, so did Yahoo, Lycos, Excite, MSN.COM, Auctions.com, etc. None of them do it any longer - they couldn't attract the buyers.
People like Amazon because they have made their site easy to navigate, the prices are cheap and Amazon covers them with the A-Z guarantee. I buy tons of stuff from Amazon and other marketplace sellers.
On eBay, you are more likely to find the quirky stuff, or something else that is specific. I go there for nostalgic items and I check prices on some used stuff sometimes. But new, I generally buy from Amazon.
Bonanzle (or Bonanza) and Etsy are good for older stuff and homemade items. I found some amazing LED signs and neon art at Etsy, all made by one guy who specializes in it.
But, generally speaking, Amazon gets probably 70% of my business, eBay 20% and everything else is 10% - roughly speaking.
In order to compete with that, you would need a huge budget for advertising to get buyers to the site. Google COULD succeed with it, but I doubt they will be getting into the auction business anytime soon. I somehow can't see Microsoft or Apple trying it.
The internet is different now from when Pierre Omidyar started eBay. Back then, everything was smaller. And eBay was NOT the first online auction site. There were several before eBay. But eBay was the first auction site where anyone could sign up to buy AND SELL. That was HUGE! Not to mention, very cool at the time.
Back in the day eBay was the coolest place to be. eBay WAS just a venue - not at all like it is today. Communication with buyers and even other sellers was ENCOURAGED. Now, eBay does not want you talking to anyone, except via their messaging system.
You could find some TRULY COOL stuff on eBay. They even allowed guns to be sold. Before eBay started banning entire categories of items, it was a wonderland. Now it is like a K-Mart.
Don't get me started...
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