Uh Oh Here Comes The Hammer! (auctions.freeserve.com)

Member Name: utero

Product:	auctions.freeserve.com
Date:	24/10/01 (111 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: it was free, good auction end e-mail

Disadvantages: site isn't inviting, complicated and dull layout, listing censor in place

I've been using the internet for a number of years now but it wasn't until quite recently when I started to use auction sites to flog all the gear that was hanging around my place constantly telling me "what were you thinking?".

Well obviously one person's tat is another's treasure and I've actually commanded more money for things than I'd expected. Money is good; money is what makes me strong. I normally use Ebay because of it's large number of visitors but of course there are listing fees and commission to contend with.

Just over a week ago I received an e-mail telling me about a commission free period on fsauctions. The e-mail wasn't entirely clear as to whether it was entirely free so i fired off an e-mail to their customer service department. What I got back was a prompt and polite reply so with tat in hand I set about placing listings on the site.

On first impressions this site doesn't seem as welcoming as Ebay and the experience is somewhat similar. It just doesn't seem as welcoming as the layout of Ebay’s site. I don't know what it it, it's just a feeling.

Your account is accesses by the usual username/password affair. This leads you to an account management screen that is a simple in layout but muddled in terms of words used. With Ebay you have simple headers such as buy and sell which are self-explanatory. But here you have one section with links for buying and the same goes for selling. Again it's just not as straightforward as you'd expect. I like a website to be straightforward with one word links that save you having to glance around the page for the right place to click.

Now I get to place my listings. Of course you have the usual options such as title and description. You can choose to link to a picture on a website or you can upload images from your own computer. Very easy and effective to do. On to the price etc and you have the usu
al option of reserve, minimum bid. All this is ht e stuff you'd encounter with all websites. But then I had a problem. It seems this website has something in it's code that checks for words you may be using that it might not agree with. For instance I wanted to sell an Ice Cube CD called Lethal Injection. But I couldn't because it wouldn't allow me to use these words. I'm all for not letting offensive items on an auction site but how am I meant to sell something when I can't say what it is. The problem with this is that it doesn't pinpoint what the problem is. This leads to many attempts to try and submit it without success. In the end I just gave up and listed it on Ebay.

Once the listing was placed, you leave it to your own devices. However unlike Ebay you don't get any kind of confirmation e-mail about your listing. Those that have used Ebay will know that such e-mails contain a direct link to your listing so you can keep track. It seems Fsauctions would prefer you to log into the site every time. You also are given standard shipping cost options to add to your listing. Sorry Fsauctions but I prefer to state my own.

The same problem arises when your auction has finished. If you haven't had any bids then that's it. You don’t get notified of the auctions end, you're just forgotten about. Only when you have bids on an auction do you get e-mail and on this level I was impressed.

The e-mail comes through with a simple table format that gives you the final bid as well as shipping cost's stated as well as the bidder's e-mail and mail addresses. I preferred this to Ebay on this account because I could wrap the auction up without having to go to the site. I could also package the goods without having to wait for a reply fro the bidder.

As it stands I sold a few things and so far I haven't been charged. At no time was I given any idea of how much the listing would have cost me
. You're expected to work it out yourself. Maybe this was turned off for the commission free period, maybe not. But it's also impossible to see if anyone has even looked at your listing with the aid of a hit counter.

I used this site because it was free but if I had to pay then frankly I wouldn't go back. It'd have to be Ebay because it's a better laid out site, easier to use and you have a much better chance of selling your item.

Summary: