Herald, 300 media partners, launching online auction site

Watch out eBay and craigslist.

In a move that will offer consumers a competitive online auction alternative to eBay.com and other e-commerce sites, the Boston Herald along with Ranger Data Technologies and nearly 300 local newspapers and broadcast partners are launching Boocoo.com.

"Increasingly, private party business (or classified advertising) is moving away from newspapers, so the chance to maintain that business with an online auction site is a great opportunity for the Herald," said Gwen Gage, spokeswoman for the Herald.

"Because of the explosive growth in Internet usage in the past decade, a new revenue opportunity has opened up for newspapers and other local media," said George Willard Sr., founder, chairman and chief executive of Ranger Data. "Boocoo.com was designed in part to regain revenue lost to online classified advertising and auction sites while giving consumers a secure and competitive alternative rich in local content."

As a special promotion for Mondays launch, readers who go to bostonherald.com will get a user name and password that will allow access and waive any transaction fees for the first week.