Ebay offers a variety of listing formats which you may not be familiar with. If your new to eBay, the different selling formats can become confusing. Below, are a definition of eBays listing format.

Auction Style

An Auction Style format is what eBay is best known for. Sellers list their items for 1,3,5,7, or 10 days and bidders are open to bid at any stage of the auction until it expires. At the end of the auction, the member which has bid the highest amount wins the auction.

Buy-It-Now

Buy-It-Now format is used for items to be offered at a fixed price. No bidding is required for Buy-It-Now items, the price is set by the seller and interested parties simply choose to buy it at that price. As soon as a bidders purchases the Buy-It-Now item, the listing is over. Sellers can also list multiple items using Buy-It-Now, in which case the listing runs until all the items are sold or until the auction expires. Like auction listings, Buy-It-Now items can be listed for 1,3,5,7 or 10 days.

Shop Inventory

This option is only available to sellers who maintain an eBay shop. Shop inventory is similar to Buy-It-Now items in that they are of a fixed price but the listings can last for upto 90 days. Shop inventory is cheaper for sellers to list but with the disadvantage items get less visibility from bidders.

Classified Ads

Classified Ads is a new concept to eBay and only available to motor dealers registered with eBay who also subscribe to the eBay motor Pro package. This is neither an auction format, or a buy-it-now format and sellers simply email the dealer for more information about the vehicle. Unusually any deal is completed away from eBay with classified ads. Most experts suggest eBay has introduced classified ads for registered motor dealers so ebay can compete further with sites such as AutoTrader.

Want It Now

Want It Now is another recent addition by eBay. It allows users who are searching for specific items to create an listing based on their needs. Like other listing formats, you are required to pick an eBay category and describe the item you want. It is then up to interested sellers to email the buyers with an active link to an auction for item they are searching for. As a seller, want it now could potentially become a very powerful tool to complete sales on eBay & connect with interested parties.