You know, I truly think there are specialty auction sites for just about everything out there now...I guess everyone jumped on the eBay craze and came up with smaller businesses to fill in the gaps, such as my absolute favorite of all auction sites...Aquabid.

In case you can't guess from the name, Aquabid is an online auction for aquarium supplies and aquatic critters...namely tropical fish, goldfish, US native fish, snails, eels, frogs, shrimp, and so on and anything you can ever think of to go into their care, keeping, and "sprucing up" their homes (decorations, substrates, cool lighting, you name it).

To people that are used to a higher-budget auction site (such as the aforementioned eBay) Aquabid's appearance may be a bit simple and with few advertisements (a couple more advertisers have cropped up recently, but still much less than one is used to seeing which is a welcome break for me). What does this all mean? Well, the site owners are spending less money on the appearance of the site and so don't have to charge an arm and a leg for fees.

Personally I love the simple design; right there on the homepage you have all the categories listed for you so you can easily go straight to what you want, or you can select "new items", "hot items", "ending soon", "buy it now", or "one-hour auctions" on the sidebar if you're just browsing and don't want anything to slip through your fingers (or if you're a hard-core addict like me and have to check the "new items" every day so you don't miss anything).

For the brand new fish seller there are some very helpful articles under the FAQ regarding proper procedures for shipping fish as well as the usual fare about how to bid, leave feedback, and so forth. Most sellers will detail their shipping procedures and costs in their auctions and if they don't I definitely recommend e-mailing them before considering any of their fish. This site may be small, but it does attract many top fish breeders affiliated with the IFGA (International Fancy Guppy Association), the IBC (International Betta Commission), and many others. One thing that's really impressed me is the wide variety from grade fish like you'd find in pet stores to top-of-the-line imports from Singapore (yes, there are sellers from all over the world here!).

As can be expected considering the nature of the goods sold there is fairly limited traffic in the live fih categories during the winter because the weather is so unpredictable and heat packs can get pricey, besides the fact that most breeders are just as protective of their fish as of any other beloved pet and don't want to see them come to harm in transit. The best time to find the best variety of fish is during the spring and fall, though summer isn't too bad for selection and cold packs don't add as much cost or unpredictability as the heat packs do.

So back to those fees...the ones I mentioned they don't charge an arm and a leg for? Well actually they don't require you pay anything...it's free to bid (obviously), and free to list. If your auction sells for more than $30 the site will request a donation based on a percentage of your sale, it's not required but it is a small price to pay to keep this wonderful service on its feet.

I have been on this site since about 2003 (since I found it) and have been both a buyer and seller since. From the selling end, few are the times I've sold my fish or snails for less than I wanted for them and I've maintained a 99.9% survival rate while shipping my critters via USPS Priority Mail with only very occasional buyers opting for the more expensive USPS Express Mail. My snail cookies have never failed to please and it seems to be a big selling point when people can see my actual snails that I've raised on the food I'm selling. Even when my listing goes for less than $30 I am more than happy to pay my final value fee because I know it will keep the fee from becoming mandatory and keep this great site on line...it's reassuring to know that I'm not required to, though, and that there will be no negative repercussions if at some point I can't pay.

From the buying end, I've purchased more breeding stock than I care to recall on this site as well as numerous live food cultures (anything from daphnia to scuds to grindal worms, they're sold here!) and frozen food. In all the years I've bought off this site I've only run into one seller I wasn't entirely pleased with...I'd spent weeks trying to find a suitable mate for a female betta I had and finally found one I liked and bought him, then the seller sent a different fish explaining that the one in the auction "had been sold elsewhere" but refused to refund or accept a return on a clearly inferior fish...but that one has been offset by the probably close to 100 sellers I've had perfect transactions with and have repeatedly bought from in many cases.

Remember that the fish you buy here are going to be a bit more expensive than the ones you get at the pet stores, but they've also been raised by reputable breeders. Instead of some critter from a fish farm that's probably never even been looked at by human eyes before it's packaged up to be sent to the store you get disease-free fish with a definitely known age and in tip-top condition that has been tended carefully since the start of its life and has undoubtedly received much better food and been kept in much better quality water its entire life. Another plus is that there is a much larger selection of fish than you'll ever find in a single store (and if you do let me know, I want to see that store!) so you're not limited by what's available locally for your aquarium.

As with any pet please thoroughly research your fish before buying to ensure that your aquarium is ready for them and is properly stocked so they can remain as healthy as the day they left their breeder. If you're unsure of where to start researching the fish and its needs and Google and library searches aren't helping, e-mail the breeder! The fish are being sold by the people who raised them, not by some high school kid who is being paid minimum wage to put them in a bag for you. If you're truly serious about having a gorgeous and healthy aquarium filled with quality fish, then make a habit of Aquabid.