Ebay’s New Direction – Will They Survive?
I’m sort of an on and off ebayer, and one thing I’ve noticed in recent months is the lack of actual auctions on ebay. More and more I am noticing that the things for sale are not being listed by Joe Blow like me, they are being listed by big companies and liquidation firms that have hundreds if not thousands of items for sale at any given time.
What does this mean to you?
It means less deals, and more of an actual storefront type of shopping. Searching ebay will not be like searching for deals on craigslist, but more like walking through a virtual mall, with many different vendors. This is Ebay’s new business model, obviously implemented by current CEO John Donahoe. I think John’s going out the door soon.
Ebay’s stock has plumetted to less than half of it’s value in the last six months. Perhaps partly due to the economy, but I’m sure the fact that declining visitors and revenues aren’t helping. The new pricing structure and feedback systems are all designed to encourage buyers and only benefit large-scale sellers.
When I search on ebay now, I see about 80% Buy-it-now products, which is fine, but the problem is, they are all online stores selling new stuff. There are many things that I do enjoy purchasing with buy-it-nows from businesses, but they are usually small ticket items. I think eBay needs to rethink their direction because abandoning the small time auction seller, which was their core business and the root of their success, is a bad idea. I’m all for new direction, but never forget your roots.