EBay Alternative Watch: Alternatives and Affiliates Gear Up For The Holidays

Many eBay alternative sites are gearing up for the holiday rush. Here are some of the latest announcements from several smaller and more niche online marketplaces:

Bonanzle Upgrades Servers, New Seller Features
The Bonanzle marketplace recently made several site enhancements. A couple of weeks ago we mentioned that Bonanzle was offering optional paid memberships to sellers, and the results are in. With the paid memberships rolling in, Bonanzle's founder announced that Bonanzle is moving to an even faster server to boost the site's performance.

During the server transition the Web site experienced a few hiccups, but according to the company, the site had only been down about 10 percent of the time and is back on track. That's n not bad for a relatively new marketplace that has grown to over 9,000 members since launching out of beta less three months ago.

In other Bonanzle news, two new features have also been added to the site this month. The first is the addition of wish lists that let buyers add items to a personal roster to share with family and friends for the holidays. The Bonanzle team also added international shipping options at the request of members. Sellers can simply batch edit booth items and select from a variety of new shipping options to help make buying and selling across borders easier.

Bidjit Removes Beta Tag
Bidjit, and online auction site that offers live and static auctions, says it is officially out of its test phase. Bidjit, which announced its beta site back in June, combines three areas for selling merchandise: static auctions, live Web-cast selling events and live auctions powered by ProxiBid. Bidjit's live Web-cast events are broadcast on the homepage from the Tampa, Florida-based studio. When not broadcasting live events, sellers' newly listed items are rotated on the main page. Auctions are free to list on Bidjit, with some optional fee-based upgrades available to sellers, while final transaction fees (VTF) start at a two percent fee on items up to $500.

Jewelplanet Caters to Dubai Tourists
In new launches this week, Jewelplanet.com announced its new e-commerce portal, designed exclusively for international, UAE jewelers. Launching at the 2008 Dubai International Jewellery Show, the site is now open on an invitation basis. According to Jaymin Bhuptani, business manager for Jewelplanet.com, the site will provide an opportunity for millions of tourists that visit Dubai to repurchase from their favorite Jeweler once they return home.

Unlike standard seller-oriented marketplaces, Jewelplanet.com handles the entire process for jewelers, including photography and product uploading, customer service and payment processing. A beta version of Jewelplanet.com is currently available, and UAE jewelers can start uploading their products. The site will officially open for business on Dec. 2.

Tools Online Sellers Can Use

WidgetBucks Offers Holiday Widgets
WidgetBucks has an early holiday gift for online sellers who also take advantage of affiliate marketing. The new Shop-in-Widget Holiday Creative offers several new looks for the season: Thumbnail Bonanza, Single Product Showcase and Triple Product Showcase. Affiliates can also choose to display the new widgets in a new holiday-themed skin. The new Shop-in-Widgets feature an interactive search capability, so site visitors can proactively search for a desired product. Within the search results view, shoppers can find their desired item, and also see options for free shipping, discounts and deals, brands and various price ranges to suit their budget.

Only on eBay...

EBay Canada Ltd., who says that more than 32,000 Canadians make all or a significant portion of their earnings by selling on the auction Web site, was recently ordered by the Federal Court of Appeal to hand over details on Canadian eBay members who held PowerSeller status in 2004 and 2005. This information, will include a member's full name, user ID, mailing address and billing address, telephone and fax numbers, e-mail address and the sales information (high bids) of items sold on eBay.

In a FAQ posted on eBay.ca, the auction giant stated that it strenuously objects to being forced to release this information, and that information disclosed will only include transactions that took place while the member held PowerSeller status. EBay also suggests that the Canada Revenue Agency may seek further court orders authorizing information for subsequent years.

Canadians, by law, are required to report all income each year when they file income tax, and those who sell products or services are also required to have a GST/HST registration if their income exceeds $30,000 yearly. These sellers are also required to remit GST/HST on all taxable sales within Canada.

For those Canadian eBay PowerSellers who may have "forgot" to claim their eBay-earned income, the CRA does have a Voluntary Disclosures Program (VDP) that lets Canadians come forward and correct inaccurate or incomplete information or to disclose information they have not reported. If the CRA accepts the disclosure, you will have to pay the taxes or charges owed, plus interest, however you are not subject to penalty or prosecution for those amounts accepted. Also, the disclosure must be filed before an audit has been started by the CRA.