Just Like Amazon: Half.com

eBay Stores and eBay Express aren't the only places you can find fixed-price merchandise in the eBay universe. eBay also runs a site called Half.com, which offers new and used merchandise for sale from a variety of merchants.

As you can see in Figure 9.6, the Half.com home page (half.ebay.com) looks a little like Amazon.com's home page. That's by design; Half.com was originally conceived as an Amazon competitor. Today, Half.com offers merchandise from both large and small retailers, and from individuals, too. The site specializes in CDs, DVDs, video games, books, and textbooks.

Figure 9.6. eBay's Half.com site.

When you search for a specific item on the Half.com, the site returns a list of all the sellers who have that item for sale, like the one in Figure 9.7. The list is sorted into new and used items, with the used items further sorted by conditionlike new, very good, good, acceptable, and so on. This is a great way to compare prices between sellers; click the More Info link next to a specific seller link to learn more, or click the Buy button to make your purchase.

Figure 9.7. Searching for items for sale on Half.com.

When you make a purchase at Half.com, you're buying directly from the individual seller, just as you do in an eBay auction. The big difference, of course, is that it's not an auction; you're buying an item (new or used) at a fixed price. The other difference is that you don't pay the seller separately; all your Half.com purchases end up in the same shopping cart, just like at Amazon.com. As you can see in Figure 9.8, you check out once for all your purchases, and make just one payment (to Half.com). Half.com then pays the individual sellers, who ship you your merchandise separately. It's fairly painless.

Figure 9.8. Items from multiple sellers end up in the same Half.com shopping cart.

The Absolute Minimum

Here are the key points to remember from this chapter:

• Many sellers offer a Buy It Now option in their auctions; this lets you purchase the item immediately, without waiting for the auction to end.

• eBay Express consolidates fixed-price listings from eBay auctions and eBay Stores with a single shopping cart and checkout.

• eBay Stores offer fixed-price merchandise not otherwise available via eBay auctions.

• eBay's Half.com also offers fixed-priced merchandise for sale from both individuals and merchantsall from one common shopping cart and checkout.