Is Ebay viable long term ?

coltgus · January 2, 2007 6:34AM

Sometimes I wonder if Ebay is viable long term. One of the most respected high end camera sellers on Ebay suddenly got 15 negs in a row saying they kept the money and did not deliver. And that wasn't the first time as previously a different seller had done the same thing. I've always thought that sending large amounts of money to someone I didn't know was risky to say the least. Then there's Paypal which I guess protects the buyer but what about the seller ? Our world today is populated by crooks who spend every waking hour figuring out how to game the system. If you can go on Ebay and pay with a stolen credit card how long will it be before that becomes pervasive ? It is one thing for amazon.com to write off bad credit card purchases and quite another for a small business. And it is different than doing it in a brick and morter where you have to show up and look into security cameras.

And every other day we all get emails saying "click the link below and fill in all the information or your bank account will be CLOSED" ( and don't forget the 3 digit security code on the back ).

notwilight · January 2, 2007 6:38AM

It's a passing multibilliondollar fad...not.

saintguru · January 2, 2007 6:46AM

Coins are such a small percentage of their biz....Ebay is the place to go to buy stuff cheap...New cameras, DVD's, everything.

And remember, the bookie never loses money.

JJM · January 2, 2007 6:50AM

I think it has everything going for it as possible .....

flaminio · January 2, 2007 6:51AM

eBay may go, but the concept of an online marketplace where buyers and sellers can come together is here to stay. And you can bet that any future replacement service to eBay will attact the same level of scammers as well. It just comes with the territory.

Shamika · January 2, 2007 6:54AM

The creation of eBay was way overdue. But the same sort of idea has been around since the dawn of time. From bizaars to yard sales to flea markets. I cannot imagine eBay (or another internet equivalent) ever disappearing.

DennisH · January 2, 2007 6:55AM

I think eBay is the new business model for coin-selling, although I would expect changes in its form and function as time goes by. I'd also be surprised if it doesn't last longer than most store fronts, shows, and live auctions.

ziggy29 · January 2, 2007 6:56AM

eBay is a natural monopoly that allows ordinary people to sell stuff without a storefront at a higher price than they'd otherwise have a prayer of receiving. The format is here to stay for the long haul, and unless eBay does something colossally stupid and/or criminal, its natural monopoly status will keep it as the 800 pound gorilla -- as much as I'd like someone to come along and knock them off their high horse, I just don't see it.

SportsModerator · January 2, 2007 7:11AM

As soon as the government gets around to imposing a national internet sales tax, then the days of ebay will be numbered. Don't think that eventually they won't get around to it. Too many dollars on the table.

TwoSides2aCoin · January 2, 2007 7:23AM

Ebay is as viable long term for commerce as public transportation is for people in any large city.
Anyone who wants to shop for anything online will usually do a search for it on ebay. (sorry google).
What is more intriquing to me is that even ebay needs a ride on the superhighway

For coin sellers, the fees sure eat into potential profits. I do not agree, in part, to the fee structures based on the selling price. But Meg is there because ???? It is a classic business model....they charge on the front and back plus an override on the payment, plus they get a cut of what goes to the post office. (I think it's 13 cents). Correct me if I'm wrong, but....They generate business for business. It's a WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN WIN situation.

291fifth · January 2, 2007 7:29AM

eBay is now more than 11 years old and no viable competitor has appeared. It is still viable. Collectibles, such as coins, which once accounted for a large portion of its business, are now a minor consideration. (In eBay's early years, Beanie Babies accounted for about 10% of its business!)

The greatest threat to eBay may lie in the pressure management feels to maintain growth. No matter how hard management tries, they are unlikely to ever find another property as successful as the original eBay.

seemyauction · January 2, 2007 9:09AM

I'm sure my statements will be met with opposition....but here goes.

ebay will remain the king until the sellers go somewhere else....what is ebay without the items? who pays for the items to be there?

I started selling one ebay jan 31st 1998, for the first 2 years I thought it was and it was for me, the greatest thing on earth...

I have since been looking for a better market, my ebay & paypal fees cost me about $15,000 a year, so for me a better market is defined as a place I can sell the same amount of items for the same amount of money and pay less fees.....I found it just this year, (I won't disclose it unless you ask me) and have started selling half of my items there and not ebay.

ebay is structured to make money on the items listed and not the items sold....DOOMED from the start, if listers are not making money they will not list....

A better structure would be more like the google model....provide the content, the masses will find the content and stay, charge to advertise.......

The site I found does just that, it costs nothing for auctioneers to list auctions, and items, free picture hosting, online absentee bidding, item research.....its all free for the content provider, the auctioneer.

Who pays for all this? Companys that want to advertise on the site which receives about 100,000 unique viewers a day, that stay for an average of 30 minutes.....How many minutes do you spend on ebay a day?

ebay is doomed unless they change the way they make money and the way they provide content.....

who says that? I say that.

Alan Stullenbarger January 2, 2007 (and I've been saying it for about 3 years now)

flaminio · January 2, 2007 9:52AM

Why the secrecy, Mr Seemy Auction? If you've found a better place, shout it from the rooftops! Don't play it close to the vest. Presumably it's in your interest to drive traffic to the site.

People are so weird sometimes.

gummibear · January 2, 2007 10:02AM

Ebay will always be there. I think more specialized sites will soon start to cut into different departments though. Like the coins that are getting totally clogged by the junk sellers who make searching harder. But that will still be a while for us to find a site with the same amount of users. It still is good enough for now.

my art

buddygray · January 2, 2007 10:35AM

Hasn't there been talk on and off that the Google people are developing something to take Ebay on?

I honestly hate Ebay and their excessive fees plus the crazy rules that change-update-become ammended faster than a traffic light changing, but they have the volume. I don't know why Yahoo never got it together because their structure for auctions was better in my opinion. You had more user control over your postings and their prices were much better, but they never had good volume compared to Ebay.

Konahead · January 2, 2007 10:47AM

for all the bad things that can happen (and can happen in any transaction), Ebay fills a void and allows people to find hard to find items of all type. It or another service like it will be around for a very long time.

Russ · January 2, 2007 10:52AM

<< <i>so for me a better market is defined as a place I can sell the same amount of items for the same amount of money and pay less fees.....I found it just this year >>

You found a better market than eBay? Sure.

Russ, NCNE

jbsteven · January 2, 2007 10:54AM

If there is one place that could knock Ebay around it would be Google. If they charge for only items sold instead of listing and selling fees then they can and will dethrone Ebay.

seemyauction · January 2, 2007 11:13AM

<< <i>If there is one place that could knock Ebay around it would be Google. If they charge for only items sold instead of listing and selling fees then they can and will dethrone Ebay. >>

That model has been tried and has failed....the problem is you have to already have the traffic for that to work....I will agree that google has a better chance of that but that goes against the google business model.....

AL

Dave99B · January 2, 2007 1:04PM

I fully expect that eBay will 'go away' the same day pigs can fly.......stay tuned.

Dave

Coppernicus · January 2, 2007 1:12PM

I've been selling on ebay since 5/03 and my average cost for ebay is 8.63% of gross revenue. I wish it were less, but even if some competitor offered lower fees, they still would be a long way from the size of ebay's audience. The first in the market has a huge edge, although not an insurmountable edge.

I'll be very interested in Google's efforts, but for now, I'll stay with the bay.

Mike

shuckins · January 2, 2007 1:12PM

pm sent

ARCO · January 2, 2007 1:39PM

I sure hope Ebay or an equivelant online marketplace exists for as long as possible. It has made collecting coins possible for myself, and without Ebay, I never would have begun collecting coins anew. There is just too few coins in my regional area to keep my interest piqued in collecting. With Ebay, I can peruse coins every day and the source is seemingly endless. It has also allowed me to collect coins with the ability to resell coins with more potential for the top price than I could have ever hoped for from a middle man (dealer) broker.

Ebay has made my hobby immensely enjoyable and even profitable. Thanks EBAY!

Tyler

marxbuff · January 2, 2007 1:51PM

eBay is here to stay, don't worry.

No matter what anyone says!!!

BobaFett72 · January 2, 2007 2:39PM

Ebay has no viable competition at the moment. It would take the muscle of Google with the willingness of real risktaker to take them head on. Ebay has a long shelf life ahead of it, unless something seriously goes wrong or they raise their fees to such a level that its not worth it for folks to sell on the site.

clackamas · January 2, 2007 3:00PM

EBay is here to stay. Google or craiglsist could do it but it would have to start out free for a long time to gain the market.

Hugegut · January 2, 2007 6:10PM

I think eventually the fees will rise to the point where only big-ticket items will be profitable to sell and margins will be very thin. I think it will become a unified online mall for the big boys like Circuit City and Walmart. All selling the same stuff for the same fixed price.

291fifth · January 2, 2007 7:28PM

<< <i>I think eventually the fees will rise to the point where only big-ticket items will be profitable to sell and margins will be very thin. I think it will become a unified online mall for the big boys like Circuit City and Walmart. All selling the same stuff for the same fixed price. >>

In many catagories this has already happened. However, try running an auction that starts at 99 cents and has no reserve in one of those catagories and see what happens. The buyers will flock to your auction if you also have a reasonable shipping charge.

seemyauction · January 3, 2007 5:18AM

<< <i>eBay is here to stay, don't worry.

No matter what anyone says!!!

>>

ebay moved the wrong way on alexa last week.....they went from 12 to 13 the object is to be #1 which this week is yahoo.....oh yea they have an auction format selling thingy don't they?

What one needs to look at is how fast the transaction from millions to top 100,000 a web site moves....The faster it gets there the better chance it has of bumping one of the big boys out and keeping them out.

by the way pcgs.com is ranked 54,089

teletrade is ranked 183,421

seemyauction.com is ranked 188,668

which means my website receives almost the same amount of traffic as teletrade.....interesting....I bet they make more money than I do......lol

AL

53BKid · January 3, 2007 1:16PM

I have to admit an even bigger eBay addiction than my CU addiction.

Between the two, I'm suprised I'm still married.

With a market cap of $42 Billion, its market cap is 3 times Ford Motor Company's!

I suspect it's here a lot longer than we are. Then again, everyone in the 60s thought that about US Steel, Pan Am and AT&T.

Coxe · January 3, 2007 1:24PM

For all of the things we can identify wrong with eBay, they have done a lot right. They seem to have little if any problems with downtime or outages. Bids are processed reliably. The model seems to work for a wide spectrum of merchandise. They have integrated in major retailers, live external auctions, real estate, .... with no huge issues. PayPal is a lucrative business even if eBay proper closed the shutters. I sold my shares of their stock recently enough because I don't see sustained growth to work with their ratios but I also don't see them losing dominance soon and certainlylosing enough marketshare to anyone that would threaten their overall survival. they have been tested legally a few times and came through clean. As far as viable busnesses on the internet are concerned, I doubt there are many that could be found more viable.

dtkk49a · January 3, 2007 1:31PM

I have done very well with eBay stock.

Is Ebay viable long term ?

Comments

Leave a Comment