When I was in London in October, I had the good fortune that my visit coincided with one of the Swedish Beers put on by the lovely Helen Keegan, and as expected, I met a great bunch of new people and caught up with some old friends, like the Future Platforms crew. I also met Ben Godfrey, who’s the brains behind MobMart a UK-based auction site. Let’s face it, it’s not going to knock off eBay anytime soon, but it does show how mobility can be better implemented into the online auction experience. Users can do pretty much everything from their handset — snapping a picture and sending it in is certainly an improvement over the somewhat lengthy process it takes to list an item on eBay.

Here’s Ben’s elevator pitch, and if you’re in the UK, check out Mobmart:

MobMart is the world’s first mobile-powered auction site. To sell something, just snap a picture, send it to 07720 11 00 22 and fill in the simple form. Selling is free.

MobMart is the first auction site to let you do everything from your mobile; sell, browse, bid and pay. Because you’re using your camera phone, you can post video clips too. Create your own TV ads! You can also do everything online at mobmart.com. We’ll send you texts when bids are placed on your items or when you’re out-bid. We’ve kept everything simple so it’s really easy for you to sell stuff and find a buyer quickly.

In case you’re wondering what to sell, we’re looking for the best item posted each day and giving the seller £50! That might be the biggest, the smallest, the craziest, the best video, or just the most well crafted sales pitch. Come and sell something, not only will you find a buyer, but you could also get £50!

To sell, snap a picture, send it to 07720 11 00 22 and fill in the simple form.
To browse and buy just text “MOBMART” to 80988 or go to http://mobmart.mobi/ on your phone.
To browse online, go to http://www.mobmart.com