New auction sites rise and old sites fall. What is up-and-coming this week may be gone and forgotten next year. Or, if it has attracted a following, it may have been taken over and assimilated into another, bigger auction site. One way to find new sites is to watch for news articles in online publications such as AuctionBytes.com or in articles from major online news organizations.

Bidz.com

If you yearn to experience live auctions online, check out Bidz.com. This site caters to “anxious bidders with little time to wait.” It posts live, three-minute auctions twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. It also offers “an exclusive line of Extremely Expensive items for the discerning bidders,” such as a diamond engagement ring originally priced at nearly $18,000. During a three-minute auction, if a bid is received within the final thirty seconds, the countdown clock automatically resets to thirty seconds, and the bidding keeps going.

LiveDeal.com

LiveDeal.com calls itself “the Internet's leading marketplace for buying and selling goods locally.” It is not a classic online auction site, but it may be a useful tool for finding certain types of items in your own town or region.

Buying an item through LiveDeal is intended to be like buying something at a neighborhood yard sale or local boutique. You start by entering your Zip Code or city, and then searching the categories that interest you. When an item catches your eye, you can click on it to get more details, including price and availability.

To buy, you may have several options. You can contact the seller by email. You can ask to meet with the seller so you can view the item. Or, you may be able to select the Buy Now option, pay for the item via PayPal, and have it shipped to you, just as you do with online auctions. Some sellers may list their prices as “fixed” or “negotiable.” If a price can be negotiated, you can offer a lower bid and see if the seller will take it.

Auction Fire

Auction Fire (www.auctionfire.com) offers two appealing features for online auction sellers and buyers. The site charges no listing fees, even for automobiles, and its basic service is free, even for image hosting. Auction Fire, based in Las Vegas, takes a 2.5 percent commission on the sale price for each successful transaction in which the seller receives payment from the buyer. The auction site acts as a trading venue and does not get involved in the buyers' and sellers' monetary transactions. Buyers and sellers must make their own payment and shipping arrangements.

Thirty major categories of items are auctioned, ranging from art and antiques to computers, electronics, jewelry, sports memorabilia, and motor vehicles. While larger auction sites typically promise “investigations” of reported questionable activity by sellers or buyers, Auction Fire states that it has “zero tolerance for abuse or fraud in our community” and promptly reports illegal activity to the Internet Fraud Complaint Center, operated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Whenever a new online auction site catches your eye, watch it carefully and try a few small transactions to test its suitability as a venue for your business or your buying needs.