eBay alternative eBid.net announced the release of its first round of site upgrades as part of it 2009 technical implementation program, including sales-tax capabilities for US and Canadian users. The program follows feedback from eBid's international user community for upgraded and new functions and features to make this popular marketplace quicker and easier to use.

Formed in 1999, eBid.net is a person-to-person auction site offering sellers unlimited free listings and low or zero sales fees.

The first of a planned series of technical rollouts encompasses 18 upgrades including: Sales tax facilities for US and Canadian sellers to provide transparency of final cost; My Bulk Editing for mass editing of auctions; Mass closing of auction via eBid's bespoke spreadsheet facility; Google Maps for About Me pages; Search engine enhancements for improved numerical searches and Contact Forms for direct attachments. In addition members now receive five free photos with each auction, can upload photos from personal computers and see thumbnails when listing auctions.

eBid.net cofounder Mark Wilkinson, said, "In only six months we have doubled our business to close to 2.5m listings. This year, we are investing our 2008 profits into 2009 technical upgrades and enhancements and a number of marketing initiatives. These are in line with requests from our international membership base to make the site more user friendly, create a buzz about our business and continue to attract record numbers of buyers and sellers."