Ebays success last man standing in ecommerce? No. Companies are still succeeding, revolution just beginning.
Success because they have created a revolutionary new way to buy and sell. Efficiency, customer interaction and value tough to beat in any other venue.
eBay is worlds premier online marketplace for technology products.
Number of Internet users worldwide continues to grow.1997-
Clicks and Bricks traditional brands, use Internet to leverage offline marketing campaigns, existing distribution systems, and established supplier partnerships.
Pure play business that could or would not exist without the Internet. No land-based model. Seamless connections worldwide, 24x7 connections.
EBay first level playing field for all buyers and sellers. Started 1995, went public in 1998.
In 1998, one dimensional. One site, in US, 300 categories, mostly collectibles and hard to find items. Grew to include Half.com, then fixed price sales. One trading format auctions. Core was a dedicated group of traders. No escrow, online payment. 300,000 registered users, $4.7 million in revenues.
Jan. 1998 users in 60 countries trading in English on U.S. site.
Making buying and selling easier is crucial to long-term success. Financial discipline.
End of 2000, 7 countries, 9000 categories, 22.5 million users, $1.6 billion gross merchandise sales. Collectibles no longer dominant item. New and used practical goods were. Second trading format fixed price via half.com and Buy it Now.
2001 eBay hit its stride. Categories, formats, items, users, and services. 37 million registered users sites in 18 countries. $9 billion gross merchandise sales this year, $300 in goods and services sold every second.
New categories computers, photo and electronics are largest businesses now.
Over 100 million new items per year.
Most loyal and active customer base in e-commerce. 250 milllion page views per day, customers spend long periods of time shopping there.
Why has eBay grown? Introduced efficiency into inefficient markets. Uneven pricing, widely scattered customer base, poor distribution.
Buyers benefit from selection, value and convenience.
Home and garden growing most rapidly. People buying used, liquidated products.
Tickets inherently an inefficient market. Season tickets auctioned.
Wine new market will be launched in December. Partnering with winetasting.com and NewVine logistics for the high end market.
No inventory, warehouse, sales force, commissions, capitalized development. Make their money one dollar at a time on the fees from sellers.
Sellers are a flexible army of entrepreneurs looking for new market opportunities fine-tune their business strategies.
Buyers expect value and protection.
Relationship between buyers and sellers is self-perpetuating buyers bring sellers who bring buyers. Once this starts its hard to stop. Buyers and sellers have built eBay.
EValueVille Hattiesburg, Mississippi trying to get rid of 120 leather coats escalated to a massive clothing retailing operation.
200 2000 80,000 square feet warehouses. First lasted six weeks, second lasted six months.
Why computers? They identify categories from the goods being sold, usually in miscellaneous. Create a standalone category. Computers were one of the first, in 1998. Build a market from that. Computers and consumer electronics sales will top $2B this year.
2000 PCs sold, 15000 transactions closed, 200,000 product listings, $2M per day.
Balanced mix of new, used and refurbished. 46% used. 30%-70-% higher prices than standard liquidation channels.
Software eBay is alternative or sole distribution channel for some. Increased business activity, targeted access to new customers.
Computer sellers report 50% of buyers are new to their brand.
40% of personal buyers also buy for business needs.
IBM, Sun, Dell, Ingram Micro, Iomega, Acer, Xerox are setting up their own presence on eBay.
Build awareness, acquire new buyers, and increase retention of existing buyers.
Palm direct sales factory store on eBay. 5000 Palm units sold on eBay before Palm got involved they wanted to tap into the existing market. New and refurbished products.
Sales increasing, price is good. Minimizes channel conflict they dont sell to distributors through eBay.
Worldwide Technology Exchange remarket mainframe equipment (broker) best way to sell for good price, tremendous market reach.
Next year half.com will merge with eBay auction site will become eBay Express Buys. One site, two buying experiences.
Countries they are in represents most of the e-commerce revenue generated outside the United States.
Shipping how to make it less of a problem? Introduced Checkout go through process, seller lists shipping and other conditions of sale. Many sellers not enthusiastic, so now optional.
When will eBay start issuing 1099s?
EBay motors 3d largest car dealer in the country.