posted on August 30, 2001 01:16:57 PM new
There is really no way of knowing. We deal with people we never see or discuss backgrounds with. And, in the end, it really doesn't matter.
posted on August 30, 2001 01:33:31 PM new
you are exactly right , it does not matter but if you look at the threads posted here alot of things discussed in them don't really matter........i just thought the question might stimulate some brains and bring some intelligent and insightful discussion to this board. something mroe than a vent or the same old why can't i or overcharge on shipping... yada yada yada
posted on August 30, 2001 01:46:17 PM new
"because i think it is a legit question and actually one of interest if you look at it directly and not as a racist question. it is a good sociological question i think."
You are right but attempts at serious discussion will get you slammed anyway, look what happens when a researcher tries to compare intelligence of the various ethnic groups.
Anyway my guess is that you would find (if you could do an actual study) that the breakdown on ebay would approximate the ethnic breakdown at say Harvard U i.e. white, Asian, then a smattering of latino and African-American etc. The percentages being way out of whack of actual US population.
Reasons being access to good schools, good jobs, computers, etc.
posted on August 30, 2001 01:52:32 PM new
I'm an eBay seller (white male) who also sells at antique shows and street faires. One thing I've always noticed is that it is rare to see a minority person shopping there. I know of 100s of dealers and just a few are black.
Sad, really, because the field is easy and cheap to enter and one can gain enough knowledge for it to be lucrative in a short time. I went from making $50 a day at the flea market to making $1500 a day in a year or so.
posted on August 30, 2001 02:00:03 PM new
Buyer demographics is, of course, a "real" question, and can be important for most sellers. Companies routenely pay big bucks to discover this info.
Having said that, I can't imagine any less useful way to try and capture that information than a "poll" here in this thread ("what's your race?" ). You'll get a small sample of answers from the auctionwatch community...which is probably different than ebayers in any case.
One might gain greater insight by trying to find statistics that might correlate well to the "real" answer we are trying to find, such as computer ownership, internet access, and, if we were lucky, someone has already done demographics on online purchases in general.
of course, a lot of this would only be available for americans, who are some (unknown) percent of total ebayers.
Good luck in any case. At least it isn't a shipping thread.
