After their anouncement on 15th April of the death of eBay live auctions, no high street auction house will be able to offer their catalogues to eBays 200-million plus audience after December 31 2008.

For several years, eBay have worked with a small number of independent auction providers including Artfact, icollector and LiveAuctioneers who then work with traditional auction houses to supply goods for eBay Live Auctions. eBay also allowed companies such as GoAntiques to run virtual auctions with no auction room sales associated with them.

But, unlike those that buy into the ebay audience, there are many auction houses that use the internet in there own way, to attract interest from around the world.

Take Bellmans of Billingshurst, West Sussex who held an antiques sale on March 26-28.

"The sale was viewed on our website by nearly 9000 people in 45 different countries around the world, with bids from India, China and New Zealand.”

The highest price in the auction was paid for a pair of late 19th century Scottish satinwood cabinets – which belonged to the family of Sir Donald Currie, the famous founder of the Union-Castle Shipping Line and MP for Perthshire. They fetched £6,900*

So, unlike those auctioneers and businesses who spent the last five years building ebay's equity and who built a dependence on ebay's good will; the traditional auctioneers who moved with the times and invested in their own web presence are seeing good returns on that investment.

For those that have yet to do so they would do well to read how you can build a web presence that works

Oh! and Bellmans next sale will take place on April 23, 24 and 25 – for further information, call 01403 700858, or visit www.bellmans.co.uk.

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