The first Saturday morning of each month, licensed auctioneer Walt Kolenda holds live auctions on the Web. Buyers usually show up early to inspect the goods and ask “Auction Wally” questions through a live chat window. From the comfort of his home in Barre, Mass., Kolenda calls the action over a real-time podcast, taking bidders, offering bundle deals, and calling attention to the rarity of a set of antique postcards or the craftsmanship of a piece of ornate glassware.
Like many thrift stores and estate sellers, Kolenda has benefited from strapped consumers, many of whom have cleaned out their attics in search of valuables that might help pay the bills. “I can’t keep up with what I’m doing because so many people are coming to me looking for advice on how to sell their items,” Kolenda says.
The first advice he gives most sellers: Leave eBay. Since 1999, Kolenda relied on the popular site that pioneered online auctions. But he says changes eBay made to its platform in recent years have hampered the ability of smaller sellers like him to compete with larger wholesalers who use the site as a clearinghouse to sell large amounts of goods at fixed prices. “Now, they want to be a big box [store],” Kolenda says. The changes that turned him away include higher fees for listing each item, the removal of a feature that allowed sellers to negatively rate buyers, and the elimination of all transaction methods other than PayPal, a payment service eBay owns.
Built-In Chat Feature
In September, Kolenda set up shop at Bonanzle, one of several niche online marketplaces that have sprung up to serve the growing number of online merchants who are leaving eBay out of frustration. Bonanzle was launched in June 2008 by Seattle computer programmer Bill Harding, who wanted to re-create the…