eBay rival brings auctioneering to camera phones

EVERYONE KNOWS that putting a picture against an item you wish to dispose of helps to sell it on eBay. But a rival UK service, Textandsell, intends to harness the power of cameraphones to do so.

Turning a photo into a digital image that can be uploaded to an auction site such as eBay isn't exactly within everyone's skill sets. By contrast sending a photo from a cameraphone isn't too much of a technical challenge.

With its new site set to launch next week (27th September), Textandsell encourages potential vendors to snap the item they want to sell. Then simply create a picture message (MMS) or text (SMS) which includes a description the item plus an indication of the desired sales price.

Finally send both text and/or photo to the company's mobile phone number - +447740827827.

The site intends to use location based technology which will enable vendors to search for items in their general vicinity - rather than searching the whole of the UK.

Initially vendors will be charged a mere £1.50 to list the item for a whole week. Texts or picture messages sent to the company's number are charged as a single premium rate SMS.

The company hopes that its Internet site will be perused by the younger generation. Textandsell claims 20 per cent of 25-30 year olds spend over 20 hours per week on the Net while this figure rises to 25 per cent for 16-24 year olds.

The trick is ensuring that your mobile phone is setup properly for picture messaging (MMS). If it isn't, the correct settings can be downloaded via text messaging either from the handset vendor's site or the mobile network operator's site. µ

L'INQ
Textandsell