posted on November 29, 2001 05:19:32 AM new
Some interesting points in these articles, but if ebay does decide to offer telephone support, sell any stock you have in the company. The cost of fielding questions will have them losing money on every listing.
There was also an interesting article about Meg on salon.com the other day (probably not mentioned here due its lack of negativity towards ebay).
posted on November 29, 2001 06:17:33 AM new
The articles you referenced say ebay has problems similar to Microsoft and AOL. BUT, the last time I checked, MSFT and AOL were 2 of the most powerful companies in America.
posted on November 29, 2001 06:47:37 AM new
Damariscotta, you're right about the phone support. It's a nice idea, but it'll get swamped by people calling up to complain about NPBs, retaliatory feedback, and other things that can be adequately handled through their automated forms. It would be nice to have, but you know people would abuse it the way they walk into emergency rooms for a sniffle.
The vertical market strategy is a decent notion, but I know there are a lot of specialized auctions out there, most of them seeing very little action. The only ones that have some degree of success are those that were created in response to something Ebay did - the Nazi/gun/military auctions left ebay due to ebay policy changes; "adult" auctions found other alternatives when ebay made access a chore; sports cards and some other low-priced auctions left when ebay's increased listing rates rendered them not cost-effective. The other specialized auctions aren't as successful because ebay hasn't done anything specific to their categories to drive out the buyers along with the sellers.
His suggestions to improve ebay were good and mostly common-sensical, but he didn't address the biggest hurdles to creating alternatives to ebay - their overwhelming name recognition (as synonymous with online auctions as "Kleenex" is to "tissue" ) and the fact that bidders are harder to budge than sellers.
[ edited by holdenrex on Nov 29, 2001 06:50 AM ]
posted on November 29, 2001 09:18:30 AM new
Ebay could also continue to spin off specialties as well. Some of the niche sites are ok when they are small, but as soon as they have any growing pains, ebay can eat them for lunch. And I don't expect that any venture capitalists are looking to throw money into the internet auction arena right now.
As far as adult/nazi relics/guns, part of the ebay brand management means giving up certain categories that while profitable, may make them look bad.
FWIW: I read somewhere a while back that pornography was one of the most profitable web enterprises, but investors won't put their money in such unseemly enterprises.
posted on November 29, 2001 10:10:28 AM new
This is a pretty weak article in my opinion. As someone pointed out, AOL and Microsoft are two of the strongest tech companies out there. Others would LOVE to have their problems.
The AOL problem was way overstated - AOL was NOWHERE near going under because they could not keep up with demand, give me a break! At the time, they were clearly the market leader, and I remember companies trying to get people to move, like Earthlink. However, check out their rate of growth, and it is a small blimp!
They are similar to Microsoft in that they both monopolize what they do, but last time I looked, there really is no challenge to Microsoft, and probably won't be anytime soon.
posted on November 29, 2001 05:43:24 PM new
The problem alluded to in the articles with AOL and MS is not P/E or growth, it is about responding to the customers needs and how not responding can spark competition and the death of commercial giants.
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MS and AOL are very young companies. They both have shown early market growth and revenue. But that doesn't mean they can not be knocked off.
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IBM just announced a deal with Linux developer Red Hat and RH's stock shot up. AOL members are sold on ease of use, not content or bells and whistles, another ISP can develope a yet easier net access model than AOL's. Some AOL users think AOL is the internet, and many leave when they find out different.
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MS, AOL, and eBay's businesses and customer base are vulnerable. eBay's is the most vulnerable as online auctions do not require huge amounts of capital to start, especially vertical models, not to mention regional models for things like real estate and autos.
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An alternative OS like Linux can end MS's dominance very quickly, it only takes a better system and adoption by developers and PC vendors.
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In any event, the author was not referring to current profitability or market share when alluding to these companies' vulnerability.<br />
[ edited by REAMOND on Nov 29, 2001 05:45 PM ]
posted on November 29, 2001 07:53:42 PM new
What I found interesting is how sellers are scared of telling ebay how they really feel. I had no idea so much corrupt activity was taking place there. SO they even call these people "pinks"? Sellers should reverse every rotten trick ebay has done to them in the past. When people stick together things get done like the checkout boycott.
posted on November 29, 2001 09:27:07 PM new
I have always recommended that sellers by-pass eBay at every opportunity.
I have never refused a buyer that wants to transact outside of eBay, and I always include a list of products I sell at the bottom of my end of auction email and tell the buyer if interested contact me direct. I also discount items bought directly. I also deal directly with at least 5 suppliers which I found through eBay. They also discount their products for direct sales. These situations are why is eBay is constantly attempting to control contact between buyer and seller. Check out is just one of their schemes to keep sellers from developing their own independent business.
The more sellers depend on eBay, the more control eBay will foist upon sellers. Part of that control includes raising fees.
The only thing eBay actually offers is a crowd of buyers. There is no added "safety" or "security" buying through eBay. Smart sellers are developing their own direct sales from contacts made through eBay at every opportunity. I would hate to be dependent on eBay as a full time job, you would be forever at eBay's mercy and whim.
