Website Review: Half.com

Stars: 5 out of 5

Don't Forget Half.com When Looking for a Bargain

I don’t even remember how I first heard about Half.com.  I know it was in the early days of the site.  It’s an offshoot of EBay, and always well worth checking out when you are looking for a bargain.

At the time the site was formed, the idea was to provide a way for people to sell stuff on an EBay owned site without having to list it as an auction.  Yes, this was in the days before Buy It Now, so you know how long ago I’m talking about.

Basically, it’s just like Amazon Marketplace or some other site like that.  A seller can list what they have for sale and the price they are willing to sell it for.  If it sounds good to you, you click buy, pay the price plus shipping, and it is sent to you.

Like at EBay, you can come back later and rate your sellers so others know how the transaction went.  In fact, rates cross over between the two sites, so if someone frequently sells on both sites, their feedback will reflect that.  You’ll want to take a look at the feedback before you buy since every time you purchase something, it is from a different seller.

I remember back when I first used the site, I did have a couple sellers who didn’t wind up having the item in stock when I went to buy it.  The money was quickly refunded to my card by Half.com without any hassle.  Other then that, any transaction I’ve had with the site has been great.

The site is always easy to search.  The results include several different possibilities, but what I’m looking for is almost always the top result or two.  They provide results in books, movies, and music for almost every search, which is nice because you can be fairly general in your search terms and still find what you want.

They have separate listings for various editions of an item, like the hardcover or paperback version of a book or the various DVD/Blu-Ray releases of a movie.  That can be helpful, although I still double check the item’s description from the seller to make sure they put their listing in the correct spot.

When you get on an individual listing, the various items for sale are broken down into categories based on item condition.  There’s Brand New, Like New, Very Good, Good, and Acceptable.  Within these categories, the items are listed with the cheapest item on top.

Originally, the highest price a seller could charge was half the original asking price.  Hence the name of the site.  That went out the window years ago.  As a result, the deals you used to find aren’t as plentiful, but there are still some to be found.  It’s always a great place to stop when you are searching for a bargain.

I have not tried to sell anything on the site, so I can’t speak to how that works.  I do know they charge a fee for listing items, so you’ll want to read that information carefully before you start selling there.

So add Half.com to your sites to check when you bargain hunt.  I don’t buy from them too often, but I still do a couple times a year when I find a great deal.