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| '''eBay''' is a |
'''eBay''' is a successful ] ] ], at which people from all around the world buy and sell goods and services. | ||
| Millions of knickknacks, doodads, appliances, ], furniture, equipment, vehicles and etceteras are listed, bought and sold daily. Many of these dusty gizmos would have been discarded if not for the thousands of eager bidders worldwide, who seemingly collect everything. A recent search of eBay uncovered thousands of passe ] and hundreds of vintage ]s. Large, international companies, such as IBM, sell their newest products and offer services on eBay using competitive auctions and fixed-priced storefronts. | |||
| All manner of items are offered, many of which may have been discarded if it were not for a worldwide market which sees unusual items as collectible. Increasingly, international companies sell new goods at eBay; for example ] sells some of its new ]s this way. | |||
| eBay |
eBay generates revenue from sellers, who pay a 2 to 7 percent premium on each item, and from ]. It does not handle the goods, nor does it transact the buyer-seller payment, except through its subsidiary ]. Instead, much like newspaper want-ads, sellers rely on the buyer's good faith to make payment, and buyers rely on the sellers' good faith to actually deliver the goods intact. To encourage fidelity, eBay maintains, rates and publicly displays the post-transaction feedback from all users, whether they buy or sell. This way, the buyer is encouraged to examine the sellers' feedback profile before bidding to rate their trustworthiness. Sellers with high ratings generally have more bids and garner higher bids. | ||
| Caveat emptor. eBay has its share of controversy, ranging from its privacy policy (eBay typically turns over user information to law enforcement without a subpoena) to well-publicized seller fraud, though statistically fewer than 1 in 200 transactions fail. | |||
| Because such a huge variety of items are being offered at any one time it is possible to view on eBay many common collectibles. For example, suppose one wished to view silver pennies or a silver denarius. An eBay search in either case, for "silver penny" or "silver denarius", will generate a list of a number of auctions for such items at any one time. Of course, if one is "just looking" one must maintain strong discipline, or one may suddenly own a small useless silver disk. | |||
| There has been some controversy over eBay's business practices, ranging from its privacy policy (eBay will turn over all the information it possesses about a userto any law enforcement official on demand, even without a subpoena) to the prevalence of fraud in its online auctions. | |||
| ==External Links== | ==External Links== | ||
Revision as of 00:45, 16 May 2003
eBay is a successful online auction website, at which people from all around the world buy and sell goods and services.
Millions of knickknacks, doodads, appliances, computers, furniture, equipment, vehicles and etceteras are listed, bought and sold daily. Many of these dusty gizmos would have been discarded if not for the thousands of eager bidders worldwide, who seemingly collect everything. A recent search of eBay uncovered thousands of passe beanie babies and hundreds of vintage Kewpie Dolls. Large, international companies, such as IBM, sell their newest products and offer services on eBay using competitive auctions and fixed-priced storefronts.
eBay generates revenue from sellers, who pay a 2 to 7 percent premium on each item, and from advertising. It does not handle the goods, nor does it transact the buyer-seller payment, except through its subsidiary PayPal. Instead, much like newspaper want-ads, sellers rely on the buyer's good faith to make payment, and buyers rely on the sellers' good faith to actually deliver the goods intact. To encourage fidelity, eBay maintains, rates and publicly displays the post-transaction feedback from all users, whether they buy or sell. This way, the buyer is encouraged to examine the sellers' feedback profile before bidding to rate their trustworthiness. Sellers with high ratings generally have more bids and garner higher bids.
Caveat emptor. eBay has its share of controversy, ranging from its privacy policy (eBay typically turns over user information to law enforcement without a subpoena) to well-publicized seller fraud, though statistically fewer than 1 in 200 transactions fail.
External Links
Further Reading
- The Perfect Store: Inside eBay, Adam Cohen, Little, Brown & Company, 2002, Hardcover, 336 pages, ISBN 0316150487.