~E-commerce success and its causes ~EBay dot.com, “The World’s Online Marketplace”, a website where anyone can be a seller or a buyer with just a few clicks away. It is founded in 1995 by Pierre Omidyar, a French Iranian living in the United States who wrote its basic software in a weekend. It started as a hobby and at first, and only seem appealing to a few computer geeks, but soon the site attracted collector of antiques and memorabilia. In no time, Ebay has then become one of the most popular and most profitable website in the world. Let’s explore their moments of Glory and secret behind this website’s success.
Reported in the CBS news by Correspondent Charlie Rose, eBay seems to have tapped in something uniquely American and entrepreneurial. However, that does not seem to be the case when 50millon people world wide is using the Web site to trade things, making it an auction house that never sleeps. The numbers of users of eBay continue to swell until it is reported today; number of eBay users has grown more than double to 125million worldwide today. In addition, those people are selling and buying goods that worth more than $1000 goods every second.
The founder Omidyar collected small revenue initially from successful sales and used the money to expand the enterprising site. As the number of users grew, at the end of year 1998, Omidyar already earned $3million worth of personal stake in the company. Till today, eBay maintains its low overhead costs by just being managed by Omidyar and his team.
Dated back to June 11 2003 Broadcast by CBS news, the company sells a motorcycle every 18 minutes and a car every 30 minutes. The creation and success of this website even impacted countless people, who then given up their jobs to create their own businesses selling on eBay. One testimony is proven by Laurie Liss and her mother, Darlene who stated that they started off by just using a computer, a camera and something to sell. However, they then keep expanding their business and currently selling $30000 to $40000 in goods a month. She describes eBay as the world’s largest garage sale, where used items are sold, but they are selling new products.
As for the latest update on the profitability of eBay, revenue of $2.19billion was reported at April 17th 2008, representing 24% growth compared to previous year. The earnings per share growth also recorded a 26 %, what an incredible quarter for eBay.
There are several commentators who express their views on eBay's success in over 27 countries.The link below is a video about eBay's presence.
http://edcorner.stanford.edu/authorMaterialInfo.html?mid=320&author=42
~What lead to eBay’s Success~
eBay has its humble beginning. What is the secret behind that makes them top in e-Commerce world?
The first reason being cost control factor. EBay’s founder, Pierre Omidyar and his team were shrewd operators. They manage the enterprise with their own skills in order to keep their overheads low. Meanwhile, profits are generated from commission on sales.
The second factor that contributes to its success is eBay’s goal of building trust among and between users from all over the world. Not just getting people to sell or buy products and services, the company’s core interest is to nurture a community of users with a vast range of backgrounds. Feedbacks obtained proved that products on sales are of good quality and in very reasonable price. One customer, in the name of Reverend Steve Hance claimed “ I got an album for a lot less than I would have paid for it in a second-hand shop in London,”.
Besides trusts that exist in the users of the website, eBay is also a success because it can reach globally to hundred thousand of people enabling them to make a business of their own. EBay who gains access to a global market place can reach to more potential buyers then locally and with profits keep pouring in, eBay’s continuous success will definitely not cease yet.
EBay has also a new feature for its users to list their products more systematically. The eBay stores offer its users the opportunity to increase their sales with only fees as low as $15.95 per month. Four easy steps are involved to customize an e-Bay Store. This webpage has basic to advanced layouts available to users that makes their store more user-friendly and attractive to maximize their success. Also, simultaneously listing and advertising their products in eBay’s auction, the users can also list all their products on a single website. Furthermore, with eBay Store’s promotional tools, traffic can be diverted to one’s website via eBay. Complimented with 10000 professional newsletter sent via email each month to customers, it can maximize the reach to as many customers as possible.
Other small factor is the fees systems practiced by eBay that makes all sellers and buyers love this website. The listing fees charged is to keep the items in eBay fresh. It also enables sellers to sell their items, similar to an auction. Starting from the lowest price to let each bidder offer higher price, this will prevent sellers from pricing items too high or too low. While the auction fees charged are charged by eBay only at each successful sales and charged slightly higher then the item’s minimum charge.
In conclusion, eBay is still a continuous, all thanks to the loyalty and enthusiasm of devoted users all over the world, making it into a powerhouse it is today.
For eBay's latest articles to futher enhance your understanding of eBay,the link below may shade light on this:
http://seekingalpha.com/author/onlyebay?source=more_author_name
