posted on October 27, 2000 06:19:04 PM
Reamond explained, "The article should make many sellers start thinking about P2P Net sales and any future economic upheaval. Some of us older folks remember the economic downturn of the late 1970's and the 1980's. The Net economy has never experienced a general economic downturn.
"If you think things are tough now due to competition, wait until the unemplotment rate hits 7% or higher and how this will effect our buyers- remember, the Net economy has never seen this before."
~ ~ ~ ~
NO KIDDING.
The evolution of technology into the marketplace of the Worldwide Web, creating e-Commerce is a natural progression of scientific ingenuity.
But this REVOLUTIONARY technology will have impacts throughtout MANY aspects of human life, particularly metamorphosing economic conditions.
HISTORICAL forces are at work.
And anyone who thinks that the Industrial Revolution led to many advancements in western civilization, they ain't seen nuthin' yet, lol.
posted on October 27, 2000 06:39:54 PM
There is another concern that is couched in the problems discussed in the subject Salon article.
Ever wonder where all the B2B [business to business] and B2P [business to consumer] sites are ?
The competition mentioned in the Salon article are exactly why these two types of sites are shelved or not pursued. The competitions being formed at sites like eBay, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, scare the %$#@ out of other businesses. Competition at the click of a mouse is seen as a ruinous business model.
The brick and motars that have launched sites offer little or no competition to their brick and motar prices - in many cases when shipping is added in the cost is more. That is why many consultants have recommended that these businesses split into 2 separate and independant divisions so the Net pricing can be different to reflect lower overhead.
The ultimate model will be similar to Amazon and eBay as a warehouse and drop shipper with a Web site, with many items drop shipped from third party vendors. eBay operates similar to a Web site with drop shipping and as a "venue" eBay has escaped all the responsibilities of drop shipping, while Amazon operates as a warehouse shipper. Amazon's failings are not in their business model, but in their original and core product [books] because books have such a small margin. Dell and Gateway did it the right way with a high mark up PC product. The warehouse operation will be located in a very low tax jurisdiction [ a la Gateway ]. It will be a Net marketing, take order, and ship operation, with cut throat efficency, low taxes [ real estate, inventory etc.], fewer employees, lower real estate costs, a sales tax to customers only in a single state jurisdiction, no gross distribution costs to brick store fronts.
However, eBay and Amazon et al are the lab rats for these new business models. Both entities answer questions such as - will people buy over the Net, will they continue as long term customers over the Net, what type of products will they buy over the Net, what are the obstacles to consumers when Net buying ?
Dell and Gateway may find their nemisis in a couple of teenagers in a garage in Idaho who purchase computer parts and assemble them in the garage and sell them at 50% of Dell and Gateway prices [ this is how the Crosleys of Cinn Ohio made a fortune building and selling radios many moons ago]- all done through Net sales. Remember, the next generation of PC buyers grew up with PCs and will not need the customer support expense. After 4 years of PC use, I am now customer support free- even modifyimg my own hardware.
While there has been a lot of venture capital poured into the Net [ albeit sometimes imprudently], there will be even more to invest after the shake out.
But competition at the click of a mouse is still a chilling factor to would be Net sales by major retailing. Exactly what is happening to eBay sellers as we speak.
posted on October 27, 2000 07:08:47 PM
First, Michelle, sorry about the rule infringement. Wasn't intentional (by which I mean I probably ought to read the CGs again -- AND that I'm not usually a rule-breaker. Well, okay, speed limits. )
I think some of you need reading comprehension lessons Pointing out that certain ebay dynamics have been a contributing factor in the decline of one's business is not *blaming* ebay, but rather a statement of fact. It's not blaming ebay any more than pointing out that a lot of folks in her geographical area became ebay sellers and swooped up local estate sales was blaming them for her problems. Plenty of folks HERE have complained about some of the very same dynamics on ebay.
(Those dynamics are only going to get moreso IMO.)
I do wish she'd been clearer in her article about the eviction problem, but I certainly didn't see any pronounced victim mentality in the article.
posted on October 27, 2000 07:20:51 PMthe vulnerable underside of the small seller on eBay and how they may be ill prepared for a changing market
I disagree that being small, in and of itself, renders a seller vulnerable. Granted, lots of ebay sellers are clueless and they will be (if they haven't been already) eliminated, just from sheer ineptitude.
However, it's the size of the savvy small seller that gives him/her an advantage that larger operations (b2b, b2c) don't have: the ability to abruptly change directions as the market dictates.
It isn't pleasant when economics force drastic changes, but the little guys can do it alot easier than anybody else.
Indeed, by the beginning of the next decade, I suspect plenty of grad students are going to be writing Ph.D theses on the Advent of Net-enabled Microbusiness.
And the main jist of these scholarly tracts will be how the liddle widdle itsy bitsy teensie weensie seller thrived in these conditions, due to their ability to switch directions onna dime, change merchandise onna dime, and a whole assortment of kEwL guerrilla~business policies & decisions and ingenious innovations - but see, it will be those sellers who authentically see obstacles as challenges, who just luv the new, the different, the untried, the Unknown -- these are the ones that will succeed on this eBiz Journey, for their entire life orientation proves they look at life as an ADVENTURE, with no promises attached, lol.
eBay is comprised, in comparison to other e-Commerce, with a virtual ARMY of such sellers.
There's a graphic of a big semi emblazoned with eBay's logo bearing down on ya.
The subtitle of the article:
I quit my job to become an online auctioneer,but the success of millions turned out to be a disaster.
The article specifically states:
eBay is a monster
Mention is made of "desparate scared sellers" over at eBay messageboards.
Kindly give me a break, it is NOT *I* who need any courses in reading comprehension for THIS article.
Indeed, I strongly suspect that the article may be a fraud, just another lettuce bash eBay, eBay is a big bad monster, and boo hoo hoo.
I say this last sentence, because in re-reading part of the article, it occured to me that LOTS of real problems encountered, at least by board posters, are never mentioned in this article, at all.
- - - - - - - - - - -
posted on October 27, 2000 08:24:49 PM
"I disagree that being small, in and of itself, renders a seller vulnerable. Granted, lots of ebay sellers are clueless and they will be (if they haven't been already) eliminated, just from sheer ineptitude."
Reamond replies- the small seller should be able to react faster, but the small seller is under capitalized. The Salon Article example of a slow week or month and stiff competition sinking a small seller is an example. Every spare dollar a small seller may have could be tied up in stressed inventory. A capitalized company can weather this, but a small seller can not. In the future, we may very well see bad years instead of weeks or months- who will be left standing ?
"However, it's the size of the savvy small seller that gives him/her an advantage that larger operations (b2b, b2c) don't have: the ability to abruptly change directions as the market dictates."
Reamond replies- Actually the large scale operation can better contain losses from a changing market, but I would agree they can not change as fast. No one is savvy all the time, and the big boys can suffer losses for a longer period of time. Amazon hasn't had a penny in profit, yet look at how many small brick and motar book sellers it has run out of business.
"It isn't pleasant when economics force drastic changes, but the little guys can do it alot easier than anybody else."
Reamond replies- the little guys disappear faster regardless of how fast they may change, and if their method of change is in any way flawed, they're gone also. That's how we ended up with a "big 3" auto industry, when there used to be hundreds of auto makers when the product first came out. If "small" had staying power, there would be "small" businesses flourishing in all major markets instead of niches.
posted on October 27, 2000 08:59:57 PM
to Radh- I hope you are right in many aspects. But this "new" economy is starting to look and act like the old one.
eBay itself is a good example. When I first started on eBay in early 1997, it was small and a lot of action for the small seller. eBay was responsive to the small seller [that's all there was !!!] However, eBay has evolved into a huge business.
One constant thread in the complaints about eBay is always how this action or that inaction harms the small seller. eBay didn't come to me or any "super" seller and inquire about a special site for us. NO, eBay went to Disney, Southbys, AOL, etc. to expand their empire.
eBay is behaving exactly like a 20th century corporation. At some point eBay will wedge out the small seller by indirect changes. eBay would rather become more efficient and profitable catering to the likes of Disney, Wal-Mart, Sears, or Sega,. etc. than a conglomeration of millions of small sellers and their inheirent problems. It is much easier to deal with and manage a few sellers with millions of products than millions of sellers with a few products. Amazon auctions has already begun this process.
Do you think for a New York minute that eBay would ignore or send a boiler plate email response if Disney or AOL communicated a concern ?
Disney's own auction site is the trend that eBay will pursue. At some point, small sellers will be relagated to their own site with little access to buyers on the main site. Like I said before, Amazon auctions is already doing this. There isn't even an auction tab on Amazon's main page anymore.
The "little" guy always builds a businees - but it's the big guys that end up with it. That's true of any century.
[ edited by Reamond on Oct 27, 2000 09:02 PM ]
posted on October 27, 2000 09:20:07 PMit will be those sellers who authentically see obstacles as challenges, who just luv the new, the different, the untried, the Unknown
radh -- or just gotta pay the bills!
the small seller should be able to react faster, but the small seller is under capitalized
reamond, please note my use of the word "savvy," which implies that a seller has enough sense to prepare for such eventualities as market shakeups. One such preparation would be to keep enough cash reserve on hand to allow him/her to adapt and survive. Of course, another benefit of being small is that your cash requirements are small too!
Amazon hasn't had a penny in profit, yet look at how many small brick and motar book sellers it has run out of business.
Quite true but, in spite of Amazon's market share, there are countless mom-and-pop book stores that continue to thrive. Like a lot of ebay sellers, these small businesses provide services/fulfill needs that big business cannot.
[ edited by fountainhouse on Oct 27, 2000 09:22 PM ]
posted on October 27, 2000 09:48:17 PM
Here is a statement that will prove completely true in the near future- eBay's corporate value is measured in its control and manipulation of its herd of buyers and deals with huge retailing concerns, and not in its conglomeration of small sellers.
We are already seeing policies and changes that bare this out. I think there will be more changes that complete this turn of events in the not too distant future.
A group of buyers is always more valuable than a group of sellers. This is what was marketed to Disney, and will be marketed to other large retailers in the near future. Why do you think NPB's are treated with kid gloves ?
This is the only way eBay can meet the multi-billion dollar sales targets it has projected in a few years.
If eBay was a department store, the small seller will find himself in the rear of the basement before this is over.
You can not build a corporate business for the long term by selling garage sale or niche items. Sooner or later the used and "collectables" market dries up. We already are seeing posts asking 'where can I find more things to sell, I've run out.'
There are also few if any "thriving" mom and pop book stores left- far less than before Amazon got started. Amazon has done to them what Wal-Mart has done to the "mom and pop" store fornts across America. Whether it is offering "Harry Potter" books before anyone else or selling a garden rake for 50% less than the village hardware store, the effects are certain and swift.
Everyone cut and save this post- pull it out in 6/12/24/36 months and see if I'm wrong.
posted on October 27, 2000 10:37:19 PMIf eBay was a department store, the small seller will find himself in the rear of the basement before this is over.
That may be true, reamond, but we'll still be doing a hell of a business down there!
Sooner or later the used and "collectables" market dries up. We already are seeing posts asking 'where can I find more things to sell, I've run out.'
Please don't assume that the posts of a few lazy sellers reflect the state of the entire antiques/collectibles market. Trust me, there is more than ample inventory available for purchase for any dealer who knows where to look.
Here's my prediction: Whether ebay survives or not, antiques and collectibles dealers will continue to thrive on the internet. Small-time though we are, it is our very size that allows us to participate in this industry, one which doesn't offer the same opportunities to the big guys.
Heck, they can't even enter the game because (as much as I've often wanted to) it just isn't possible to write a purchase order for 100 gross c. 1860 Aesthetic Movement ironstone pitchers, or 250 cases 50s-era Zippo lighters.
[ edited by fountainhouse on Oct 27, 2000 10:42 PM ]
posted on October 27, 2000 10:51:32 PM
When we read an article such as this, one that is 'close to home' so to speak, I believe our perception of the writer's intent is colored by our own experiences. I perceived it as equally sharing the 'blame' .. ebay changed; she made some bad decisions. She had false expectations. I did not see it as ebay bashing but rather a 'this is what happened to ME' article. Is she disappointed, mad? To some degree. So?
I related a LOT to the story and enjoyed her writing style. A few months ago, I would have gotten a completely different 'message' from that article than I did reading it tonight. Ebay has never been the source of my income .. it did put my son through 2 years of private school .. or helped to anyway. When sales dropped off (for me) in the spring, I continued to list sporadically(while selling elsewhere). From July to October(?) I didn't list much, if anything.
I am grateful for what ebay gave in my first 1 1/2 - 2 years selling (.. a venue to sell some inherited pieces that brought in good money)! Am I angry that it isn't working that way anymore? No. Was I at first? Yes!! Human nature!
We all experience the same event(s) in different ways .. we are individuals are we not? I fail to see why anyone would feel that another is not entitled to their perceptions of any given situation. Why the need to judge? The author wrote about HER perceptions .. not yours, not mine .. HERS! They are what they are!
JMHO!
A question for Radh: You say in this thread that you saw all these changes coming right from the start. Why then did you post thread after thread (not too long ago) that you had been blindsided by it all? Why did you ask over and over why you didn't see it coming? You questioned again and again how you could have been oblivious to the changes? Remember those threads? I do! I empathized with you greatly. I'm now confused!
_________________
I have a memory like a steel trap .. unfortunately it's rusted shut!
posted on October 27, 2000 11:04:03 PM
reamond, I've got to get some sleep, but before I go I thought I'd enlighten you on one little fact about ebay antique sellers. Many of us are intrigued with the idea of 2 ebay sites -- one for new merchandise, and the other for, you guessed it.
Far from being the disaster you imply, it would do wonders for our credibility and sales, IMO.
[ edited by fountainhouse on Oct 27, 2000 11:05 PM ]
posted on October 27, 2000 11:20:18 PM
fountainhouse- you are quite right, I think, about fragmenting the site, but I also think your possible customer base will be fragmented. I would also add that any brick and motar retailer of used merchandise had to increase their sales if they offered them over a Net auction.
I think the "wonder" will be more direct competition and the loss of causual and browsing bidders.
I think the sales model for the small seller on Net auction sites is basically made up of the casual browsing or impulse buyer.
Because the venue generally lacks regular retailers and products, few people find what they are explicitly looking for, but end up buying something similar or something completely different.
In 4 years I have had one buyer remark that he was recommended to eBay for a particular item and I happened to have it.
While a buyer may be looking for "antiques" in general and go to that particular site, a seller will lose sales and bid competition from the antiquarian book buyer, figurine collector, or coin buyer who browses your item or catagory and makes those causal purchases.
I also think that large retailers will demand few or no links between new retail and used item sites to conserve and retain disposable buyer dollars for themselves.
posted on October 27, 2000 11:31:44 PM
Hmm, I saw the article as mostly tongue-in-cheek satire, along the line of Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal." Kudos to the writer for inspiring so much interesting conversation though.
I liked it! I especially liked the part about all the dealers fighting with each other at estate sales. Sure makes it sound like a worthwhile enterprise to ME, nyuk nyuk.
Actually I do exclusively costume/vintage jewelry -- so perhaps the writer shouldn't have "given it up long ago." Maybe specializing, getting to know the area, setting up a website might help, LOL.
posted on October 27, 2000 11:52:45 PMHmm, I saw the article as mostly tongue-in-cheek satire, along the line of Jonathan Swift's "A Modest Proposal." Kudos to the writer for inspiring so much interesting conversation though.
I thought more along the lines of "The Great Gatsby" or "1984" Lisa_B.
:\\\"Crystalline Sliver cannot be the target of spells or abilities.
posted on October 28, 2000 06:16:33 AM
NEWSFLASH:
The poor whining eBay seller is NOT the dead-end-job graphics artist she presented herself as in the article. Her writing career might go back as far as 1990, and she has books in print, one released this year. This was conveniently omitted for the sake of being able to play the "poor working woman trompled by MegaCorp.com" card. This is an example of what passes for reporting at Salon. They sell docu-drama, and never let the facts get in the way of a good story.
Claudia
"First, the article wasn't a composite, it was our story, mine and my mother's."
Conveniently omitting some pertinent facts, such as your track record in publishing, and possible royalty checks to make the "poor skill-less working slob trompled by heartless eBay" tug at a few more heartstrings. Freelance writing/editing is never easy, but you are blaming eBay for your bad business plan.
Did it never occur to you, as you saw the hordes of wannabe eBayers thundering through the estate sales, that maybe the time had come to change careers? You did what every losing gambler does: when it stops working, do the same thing, except more of it. When you lost money on every transaction, you tried to make it up in volume.
Did it not occur to you during the big eBay outage of a couple years ago, that betting the farm on the stability of the internet was unwise? When eBay, Schwab, and even AOL had news-making crashes, didn't your self-preservation instinct even twitch?
Oh, this explains it! "For the longest time eBay was fun. It isn't anymore ..." Waaaaaaaaah! Who said that work had to be fun? If it were supposed to be fun, they wouldn't call it WORK!
The good news: You should be able to pull down more than $235 a week now, with your hard-won business experience, HTML skills, computer skills, and digital image editing skills. If you don't mind using facts when you write, technical writing pays $15-18 an hour for beginners and into the $40s and beyond for the highly specialized writers. If you prefer to stick to slanted puff-pieces, the influx of newly-elected politicians into Washington DC could probably use a staff writer for their press releases.
Fountainhouse
"I saw it as a work of fiction. Entertaining and based loosely on (but not constrained by) the facts. With lots of exaggeration and melodrama thrown in for good measure."
That's Salon's style! Docu-drama in cyberspace.
radh -
Just go to AMAZON and buy her book and write a glowing review.
abacaxi: I'm glad you've shown up in this thread. I have been trying to find this person's eBay auctions.
Over in the otwa messagethread, the individual claiming to be the author stated that those 50 auctions which took 60 hours to prepare that didn't get any bids, that they were for BOXLOTS.
abacaxi, I realize that one can successfully sell LOTS on eBay, but really, geesH, can you see my perspective that I'd NEVER attempt to make alotta moolah offa BOXLOTS in the summertime - when garage sales are at their peak.
In fact, around here, consignment shops will not take ANY but the very best brand name, new-looking children's summer clothing, and only a little little little of that -- because the consignment shops know that they cannot compete with garage sales.
also, if I absolutely had to DUMP huge amounts of mdse via boxlots, I'd definitely check and see if I could register at that place that eBay partnered with which is specifically for this type of sale and for liquidation by businesses to small sellers who then sell the item one by one.
abacaxi, I am quite surprised that this article did NOT even remotely mention typical problems encountered by eBay sellers, as evidenced on messageboards.
It was thoroughly LOOK AT WHAT EBAY DID TO ME AND DOOMED ME TO.
Uhm........
Unfortunately, this will get even more prevalent than it already is.
Because EVERYTHING is changing, at ever faster exponential speed -- and there are SO MANY FACTORS INVOLVED!
But many people caught up in Historical times, they get confused and scared, there's too much to assimilate, there's too much new and unknown.
And these same people need to EXPLAIN what has happened to them.
The easiest explanation is to simply look for a culprit to blame.
And thus BASH EBAY will be around for quite some time.
posted on October 28, 2000 07:32:34 AMreamond: I see that fountainhouse already commented on your assertion, "Sooner or later the used and "collectables" market dries up. We already are seeing posts asking 'where can I find more things to sell, I've run out.'"
fountainhouse replied to your comment: "Please don't assume that the posts of a few lazy sellers reflect the state of the entire antiques/collectibles market. Trust me, there is more than ample inventory available for purchase for any dealer who knows where to look."
~ ~ ~ ~
Uhm, I believe that the posts asking WHERE DO YOU BUY STUFF TO RE-SELL? stem from two sources.
The first is totally naive and ignorant, having NO business experience or education, and genuinely is confused by how these other sellers are constantly finding items for sale.
I spent some 35 years establishing my contacts, and I do not intend to answer any such posts, so I just ignore them.
I believe that there is a second source for these strange appearing posts, and that is from BigBiz types with time on their hands, who like to mock eBay sellers - so, you might think of them as Trolls. I've read plenty of times that MANY large retailers have sheer contempt for eBay sellers SHARING THEIR EXPERIENCES, KNOWLEDGE, AND KNOW-HOW with oneanother.
The Big Ol' corporate retailers and e-tailers consider us stoooooooopid to share information AT ALL, as they see that we are giving our very own competition an edge.
Uhm.... these Ol' Boys Networks --- they ain't gotta clue what the Internet is, notta clue, so not only is their snooty pride contemptuousness of eBay sellers a real *hoot*, fact is those Big Fat Megacorporations who have shoddy goals like, "When I grow up I want to sellEVERY SINGLE BOOK SOLD on the planetand put indendent bookstores outta biz!
These corporate competitors of eBay --- they are maximally CLUELESS, and abjectly archaic has-beens, sillily snootin' down their nose at us, and not even realizing that the marketing and distribution and assorted *tactics* and policies of which they are so gosh darn proud, are entirely outmoded and represent the peak of the Industrial Revolution, which ended in the 20th Century.
They are has-beens, with a has-been philosophy, and cannot adjust to the INFINITY of the worldwide web.
posted on October 28, 2000 07:37:13 AM
Reamond: the B2B players are just starting, just starting to start up. refer to the current issue of either Wired or Business2.0 - there was an article about this.
posted on October 28, 2000 07:44:30 AM
hey radh- g'morning !
I wish what you propose were true, but if it were, Disney wouldn't have its very own site on eBay. Disney won't be the last macromegacorp to move in.
More and more eBay will be tailored for these big boys. Featured auctions will be $500 a pop before too long for small sellers. But there will be a discount flat rate for the marcomegacorps.
eBay can not meet its revenue growth projections with small sellers. It must turn to the big retailers.
posted on October 28, 2000 07:54:00 AM
B2Bs will flounder until there is some sort of control over one click competition.
There have been more B2B projects cancelled in the last 12 months than there are on the boards right now. Many of the former B2C failures are now pursuing a B2B model in hopes of grabbing some more venture capital.
Forget Wired, got f**kedcompany.com and you can get a better picture of realty.
posted on October 28, 2000 08:06:52 AMtuition44 posted: "A question for Radh: You say in thisthread that you saw all these changes comingright from the start. Why then didyou post thread after thread (not too longago) that you had been blindsided by itall? Why did you ask over and over whyyou didn't see it coming? You questioned againand again how you could have beenoblivious to the changes? Remember thosethreads? I do! I empathized withyou greatly. I'm now confused!
~ ~ ~ ~
Yes, IMMEDIATELY, waY waY waY before I decided to formally register at eBay -- like YEARS ago, in 1996 when I first came online --- within ten days of looking at bookdealer websites and booksearch engines, I sez to myself, "Hummmmmmmmmm, why should I invest ANY $$$$$ in a bookselling website, when obviously by the turn of the millenium, EVERY bookdealer and EVERY collector and EVERY reader will be selling books online?"
That occured to me about an hour after I wondered, "What will happen to the price of used books when even every single first edition can be found online in MINT condition, and there are literally 500 copies for sale for every title ever published?"
When I went absolutely BERSERK earlier this year, I had erroneously come to the conclusion that eBay had adopted an E-TAILING Business Plan.
HorroRs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Adopt an e-tailing stance?
LOLOLOLOLOLOL
I now feel a bit less embarressed how misled I was and my subsequent erroneous conclusion that eBay was going e-tail; I got less mortified when I realized via research that NO ONE out there is writing ANY incisive cutting edge analysis about eBay.
eBay is still referred to as the world's largest garage sale, LOL!
OR, they call it an online flea market, LOL.
I figure that if the financial analysts and the eBiz journalists are still that clueless of what eBay is, then I shouldn't feel so bad for misunderstanding the direction eBay had taken -- afterall, I do not have an MBA, lol!
eBay is genuinely concerned about the situation of its most precious community members, the small sellers.
I believe that I now finally understand what eBay is actually doing, and all I can say is that it is a brilliant business plan and that the strategy and foresight of Meg Whitman will see MOST of us through the storm.
The "storm" is on the horizon.
eBay has only had any competitors from e-Commerce, and they don't count, as they weren't serious retailers -- indeed, plenty of 'em seem embarressed when they finally realize that all they are is an online mail order catalogue, HOW GLAMOROUS, hey, LOLOL!!
The assault that will occur will be from TRUE business -- not eBizWannabees who do not have a clue about retailing or cash flow or inventory management, much less PROFIT. LOL
TRUE Business at some point is going to notice *us*.
LOL!!!!!!!
At some time TRUE competition will come on down on eBay, and ol' General Guderian herself ALREADY prepared lonnnnnnnnnnnnng ago for this obvious eventuality, which uhm, incidentally BigBiz ain't gonna destroy *us*, either, much less Mr. Bezos with his grandeous statement that amazon & yahoo & microsoft would get together and *crush* eBay.
Whadda laugh!
NO ONE CAN CRUSH US. NO ONE CAN STOP US. EBAY HAS CHANGED EVERYTHING.
REAMOND: I'll try to locate some direct links - I hope some of the articles I've read are online.
I have a hunch that you are basing your analysis upon many years of business experience and business education.
Alla that stuff doesn't apply here, in the way you are interpreting eBay, and maybe if you focused that keen mind on THEATRE and performance art, you'd get a liddle closer.
eBay obviously will make corporate deals if it is in their best interest as a business.
Their business is the world's largest online marketplace and their most important community members are the INDIVIDUALS who buy & sell on eBay.
posted on October 28, 2000 08:16:10 AM
Sneaking in before the next tirade. I believe there will be an influx of niche sites in the future. Because ebaY neither wants us nor cares about our needs. Why should they now we've put them on the map, as it were?
I DON'T NEED ebaY as some do. I need a non-combative site to sell MY items and do it successfully and that has NOTHING to do with ebaY. Indeed, why do I need them for anything? Answer; I don't.
The article on the Salon site still has merit. Because it really does happen. And I hope that people will realise that there is another place just waiting for us. Life after ebaY.
And please, no histrionics about B2B or P2P. It's been done to death.
[ edited by millicent_roberts on Oct 28, 2000 08:18 AM ]
posted on October 28, 2000 08:17:53 AM
tuition44: Incidentally, just a few days ago, I read that many analysts believe that 98% of all present e-Tailers will FAIL within the next 12 months.
eBay is the most successful e-Commerce company.
WHY?
Well, it ain't because of Mr. Mouse, no how, no way, LOL!
)