Week 8

Q1: eBay is one of the only major Internet "pure plays" to consistently make a profit from its inception. What is eBay's business model? Why has it been so successful?

eBay's business model is brokerage model. It brings sellers and buyers together and provids facilitate transactions. eBay's business-to-business(B2B), business-to-consumer(B2C) and consumer-to-consumer(C2C) commerce type makes online transaction much more easier.

Q2: Other major web sites, like Amazon.com and Yahoo!, have entered the auction marketplace with far less success than eBay. How has eBay been able to maintain its dominant position?

There have been differences between eBay and other major website, for example, there is no claims process and no holds when you perchace something on Yahoo!. In addition to controlling the money, sellers have the right to cancel the transaction after it ends. But eBay provides power to the buyers.
Because of the differences in payment, protection, and ratings, people get to make choices which websit to go. The entire system of eBay is set up to entice buyers to come because it's not easy foe sellers to switch over to different website and it's successful to focus to make the site more buyer friendly.

Q3: What method does eBay use to reduce the potential for fraud among traders on its site? What kinds of fraud, if any, are eBay users most susceptible?
eBay provide users claimes processes between sellers and buyers. There's "holds" in the middle. When you pruchase products on eBay, intermediate programs keep your money until you conform that you've got the things already, than the sell will get the money from the middile man. It's simply more safe and reduce the the potential for fraud among traders.

Q4: eBay makes every effort to conceptualize its users as a community (as opposed to, say "customers" or "clients"). What is the purpose of this conceptual twist and does eBay gain something by doing it?
eBay earns the trust from the buyer by make every  effort to conceptualize its users as a community.
As I described above, eBay has been friendly to their buyers. That's the reason that buyers are attracted.


Q5: eBay has long been a marketplace for used goods and collectibles. Today, it is increasingly a place where major businesses come to auction their wares. Why would a brand name vendor set-up shop on eBay?
As eBay is a huge, publicly visible market, it has created a great deal of interest from economists, who have used it to analyze many aspects of buying and selling behavior, auction formats, etc., and compare these with previous theoretical and empirical findings.
Q6. I have a few businesses, and I have used eBay for about 12 years on and off. Currently I have about 600 books listed on eBay (seller name ozrural). I stopped selling on eBay for a few years but they changed the rules this July and it is viable again (for me). What do you think changed?