Ebid Auction Users

For a seller ebid does have a much more attractive fee structure than ebay.
Over the last 5 years I have bought several coins & medals from ebid without any issues.

At the end of 2011 I listed a few coins to trial ebid (.co.uk) as a sales venue.

The coins I offered were Victorian Jubilee Sixpences, which usually have a fairly steady demand on ebay (I used the same price & postage costs).

Unfortunately I didnt make any sales on ebid during my trail.

I think the problem is that although the seller fees are very low, the collectors & dealers just aren't there to buy them (which I think is a shame).

However I do hope you give it a trail, I think I might also give it another go in the next couple of months

Seller protection... does such a thing exist?

I use eBid and have had no real problems. It does take time for items to sell, but I have found that they will usually sell at some point in time. The eBid site owners are constantly improving the site, and there are many options to choose from in creating your listings.

eBid is a venue. ebay claims to be a venue. You may utilize any payment format you desire. And there is no such thing as "protection", just as you are not "forced" to utilize any eBid subsidiary payment processors. The law and the courts are your "protection" either way.

I would say, however, if you are needing to flip a coin rather quickly, eBid may not be the choice for you. It can take a bit of time to sell your item. But, I am happy with them. I purchased a Lifetime Seller+ for $75 years ago and it paid for itself within a few months. With it, I am able to hold multiple stores, free listing (really free...no listing fee, no after-auction fee), photos, etc. And their additional modifications (bold, highlight, etc) fees are fairly low. As a Seller+, I can even get my auctions on front page rotation for only $2.50 a listing.

And I am assuming you are referring to PayPal when you asked about funds availability. If you use PayPal, the funds are available without hold unless they find some obscure reason to do so (which I would not put past them on a high ticket item). But, with eBid you have the option of accepting checks, money orders, EFT bank transfers, Google Checkout, Skrill, PPPay, or even Bitcoins. eBid is a venue, so they do not tell you how to run your business.