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eBay Wireless allows users to place bids on items from their cell phones and smartphones. The auction powerhouse expanded this service today with the introduction of a triumvirate of alert services: SMS, phone calls and IM.

Available now, buyers may receive "outbid" and "item ending soon" text messages for any item they choose. They can also re-bid via SMS. There is a 25 cents fee for up to 10 messages per item, which will appear on the user's cell phone bill. VeriSign delivers eBay's SMS alerts in the U.S.

The same type of alerts can also arrive using AOL Instant Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, or MSN Messenger instant messages on your handset for any of the items they are bidding on. (This version of the service will also be available via Skype in 2007.) As a part of these free notifications, eBay will send a link leading back to the item on eBay, where buyers can increase their bid if they wish.

The phone alerts let users know when there are three minutes left before a listing ends. Users can also place bids by phone.

eBay Wireless phone and IM alerts are do to be available next month. Unfortunately for international users, these won’t be available outside the U.S.

eBay Wireless comes in two editions: Basic and Premium. The Basic (free) version lets you access the site through a cell phone's WAP browser, where you can search and review all details of an item, check MyeBay for status on items you are watching, bidding on or selling, as well as bid and buy from your device. The address is wap.ebay.com.

For $3.99, eBay promises the fastest and most reliable access to eBay on a cell phone with the Premium version of eBay Wireless. You can view items with pictures, get details, place bids, and more. You can receive text messaging alerts when you've been outbid and when an item has ended. The Premium application is available as a download.

EBay division PayPal officially launched PayPal Mobile , an SMS payment system, back in April. With the service, PayPal users can send a SMS message to "PayPal" (729725) from their smartphones or cell phones, with the amount of money they want to pay and to whom they want it sent contained therein. PayPal then takes care of the transaction.