'High-End eBay' Offers Ultra Luxury Goods

Swedish site bills itself as "truly transparent"

From CBC News:

A website that bills itself as the "world's first truly transparent luxury marketplace" was launched Friday to allow dealers from around the world to sell "premium goods" such as fancy cars, rare watches, sleek yachts and high-performance aircraft.

JamesList HQ, a privately owned company with "strong financial backing" based in Stockholm, Sweden, said it has created jameslist.com to connect buyers and sellers of luxury goods worldwide. The website is a kind of high-end eBay.

Noam Perski, chief executive officer of JamesList, said a need exists for such a website in the midst of the global financial meltdown because it provides a free online forum where buyers and sellers of luxury items can make deals.

"Given the recent roller-coaster of currency and market fluctuations, we saw an opportunity to give serious buyers the tools they need to find premium goods at the best possible price, regardless of where they are in the world," Perski said in a news release.

"We have brought together the world's best dealers, from Alain Class Motors in Dubai to International Yacht Collection in Monaco, to offer international buyers a complete marketplace."

JamesList has more than 350 dealers, including Orange County Choppers, Kahn Design, ExecuJet and Lamborghini Stuttgart. Its "featured items" include a Boeing 737, a Maserati MC12, a Rolex Day-Date President watch, and a VanDutch 40 yacht.

Prices are listed in euros, and the website is available in English, German and Russian. JamesList said it takes no commission, is not involved in any transactions and is not affiliated with any brokerages, dealers or brands.

In its blurb about itself, the website says: "All of us at JamesList have a true passion for the luxury lifestyle."

ATR notes that jameslist does have competition from the likes of Portero.com, which has been offering "authenticated luxury auctions" since 2004, and there are several luxury real estate auction sites such as International Listings.

(Pictured: Patek Philippe 5002P Sky Moon Perpetual Calendar Tourbillon, which lists for somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.7 million. One of the many ultra-high-end items you'll find on jameslist.com)