The Death of Internet Auctions - A Different Perspective

[jeffweico]

I ran across a VERY INTERESTING article about the decline of internet auctions. It is written by a business analyst who is not taking sides in the issue (i.e. buyers vs. sellers) but rather seeks out the truth about what happened. It is not any one thing that did it, it is a combination of things.

I have not bought into this article 100%, but it really DOES make you think. As someone who has been online since BEFORE .com existed, I can attest to the constant change. You could not do business in the year 2000 the same way you did business in 1995. And in 2011, you would quickly go broke using the same business model that worked in 2000.

This is an article that I think EVERYONE should read. If it doesn't make you THINK, then you must be brain-dead. You will probably agree with some points and not others, but it is definitely worth a read. It gives you everything from a different perspective and in business that is important. It doesn't mean that you have to agree with everything, of course, but... well... see for yourselves....

Going, Going, Gone: Who Killed the Internet Auction? | Magazine

[bansheezone]

eBay was once a great and fun way for individuals to buy and sell
sell unique. Vintage, used, items.


It was a community where buyers and sellers were allowed to
“haggle” over prices and terms.
A working feeback system was in place where both buyers and
sellers could rrte each other.

Payment terms, shipping, item specifics were all left up to
members to decice, eBay offered a “place” for this to take place, and collected
their 3% on item value, not perfect, but it worked. Sweet deal for eBay as they
had a hands off approach and collected 3%.


Fast forward to today, now eBay/Paypal takes up to 24% fee
on item value, determines terms of sale for its members. Destroys small sellers
with its now one-sided feedback / rating system, has implemented a one-sided
dispute resolution process.





Fees are up, prices are up. Small sellers are leaving…. Site
is now full of mass-produced-commonplace goods at not-so-great prices….


Website has a glitzy “retail’ feel to it.


It seems like Ebay is trying to attract the Walmart crowd,
and with the quality of the buyers and sellers of recent it seems like they are
doing so.


After 12 years and thousands of sales with a 99.5%
satisfaction rating, I will no longer sell there., no will I buy.


There are other sites out there, ebid, etsy, bonanza,
audiogon, etc.. and some good deals are popping up, auction style and
otherwise, due to ex-ebay sellers trying other venues, so not all hope is lost.


Funny thing, look at ebays stock since Donahue took over,
pathetic, run a 5 year chart vs Nasdaq, poor, now vs amazon … Junk !!!!


Well said!

[Shikimaru17]

Thanks for the read.

[Melissa1971]

Very insightful! thank you. Ebay won't like this because every chance they get to glean more $ from Sellers is under the guise of it being better for the customer

"All the evidence suggests that fraud is unusual on eBay, but a few high-profile incidents and the fact that the company did little to vet sellers (again, in line with its desire to create an open, relatively unregulated bazaar) gave people something to worry about. By contrast, they learned not to worry about Amazon, which sets high hurdles for companies to be able to sell in its Marketplace and stringently monitors them once they do"