The Top Ten Online Auction Websites

eBay is one of the oldest auction sites online, and offers a huge array of auction items, anything from diamonds to used clothes to real estate. Buyers can bid or buy instantly, and sellers can use eBay to get rid of unwanted items. More about eBay: Five Ways to Search eBay for What You Want. You'll also want to check out FatFingers, a site that finds items listed on eBay with spelling mistakes; these often end with no bids as no one can find them. FatFingers makes this easier to do, potentially saving the user a lot of money.  More »

GoodWill is a non-profit organization that operates retail stores to raise money for people with disabilities. Their online auction site, ShopGoodwill, is a collaborative effort from GoodWill stores all across the United States and provides a wonderful variety of all sorts of things, from cameras to tools to sports equipment. More »

Instead of using cash bidding, Listia offers users credits, and the items are all technically free. Listia users list something they don't want anymore, then other Listia users bid on it using credits they earn from referring friends or selling their own merchandise, and then the user with the most credits wins the item. More »

uBid offers leftover inventory from brand names (Sony, Dell, etc.), and since the inventory is discounted, if you're lucky, you'll find a really good deal. More »

GovDeals is the official portal to government auctions, which range from land to computers to cars. More »

There is an amazing amount of goods seized in in the course of law enforcement, and Property Room aims to make that all available via public police auctions. More »

Don't let this somewhat bare-bones website fool you; the IRS Treasury Auction site is a treasure trove of items that you won't find anywhere else. All items here are under the authority of the Internal Revenue Code, and the properties described here has been seized or acquired for nonpayment of internal revenue taxes and therefore sold at auction.

Auctions here are a bit more complicated than you'll find at other typical auction sites, but the items tend to be much higher-ticket (homes and land). Categories include anything from jewelry to art to commercial property.  More »

If you're looking for live auctions, AuctionZip is the place to go. These live auctions are events that users can view right within their Web browser that allow people to bid for items online at the same time as those on the auction floor. With live bidding, users can access auctions around the world and get in on all the action, without any software to download or special tools to buy. More »

Ever wonder how you can get your hands on something the government doesn't want anymore? Municibid is your best bet. This is an auction website for government agencies, schools, authorities and utilities to sell their surplus and forfeitures directly to the public. Auction items range from cars to boats to furniture to computers to kitchen equipment.  More »

EstateSales.net is a unique auction website; this site offers traditional estate liquidations where most of the items of a household or business are being liquidated. These are different from garage sales; estate sales are a way of liquidating the belongings of a family or estate. They are used when someone is in need of a way to sell items due to downsizing, moving, divorce, bankruptcy, or death.  The public is invited into the home and given the opportunity to purchase any item that is priced for sale. Conversely, if users have an estate sale that they would like to have advertised, local, regional, and even national placements are available for a small fee on this site.  More »