Objective: We will be taking a closer look into the following areas of

ebay.. •  Functions of ebay •  Community •  Security & Trust

What is ebay?

“eBay delivers one the the world’s largest online marketplaces to customers via any connected device, connecting people with the things they need and

love.” -eBay

ebay offers a range of over 500 million items that can be listed online*

ebay constantly works on being able to provide the next generation of commerce

Founded in 1995, eBay now has 128 million users that can buy and sell anything.*

*www.ebay.com

The ebay Process

Selling items on ebay

Before you can sell or list an item of eBay you have to register as an eBay member, Once that is done the seller can post whatever items they wish to sell.

As a buyer on eBay you can look through the different items being sold and you can watch the bids on various items at a time or the buyer can select the buy now button which allows you to bypass the auction aspect of eBay

There is an information exchange that goes on between the buyer and seller which is a way to build trust before buying or selling any item.

Paying for items on eBay

PayPal is an eBay company that eBay utilizes as a payment solution for their consumers and merchants. PayPal is the faster and safer way buyers and sellers on eBay get paid.

*www.paypal.com

PayPal is an example of global commerce with 143 million active accounts in 193 markets and 26 currencies around the world.

In 2013 PayPals revenues were as high as $6.6 billion.

*www.paypal.com

Have you checked out ebay lately?

ebay is no longer just about buying and

selling goods

ebay has recently added updates that has dramatically changed the interface

of it’s site.

Out with the old

In with the new

Ebay’s new feed is what ebay users are greeted with when

they have selected item’s of interest after browsing on the site.

Users will see a large scrolling list of photos of the products currently available on ebay that they may be interested in.

Also included in user’s feeds are items found on collections that ebay

users have chosen to follow.

ebay users now have the option to favorite and compile a list of items from other

users

Much like….

Can you tell the difference?

“Items on the site are now more like decent attention-grabbing display ads - or even high street window displays - than unified listings. Ebay won't look like the flea market of the internet for much longer.” -Lara O’Reilly, Corporate

Advisor Magazine on ebays new feed and collection features.

According to O’Reilly, ebay’s new redesign was inspired by observations about how people shop in store, where they browse,

how they shop online and where they search.

Introducing ebay collections.

Lets take a look at a couple of collections.

ebay user cherylds78 is a fashion blogger & stylist who uses her collections page for women's fashion.

All items on cherylds78 collection are available items by different ebay sellers. No items featured in these collections are being sold by cherylds78.

In fact cherylds78 has no seller record on her ebay profile.

All feedback found for cherylds78 deals with her as a buyer.

But Cherylds78 is indeed “selling” something…

Cherylds78 primarily uses ebay as a resource to promote her fashion blog.

There are more ebay users just like her…

ebay user gabi_fresh is another fashion blogger who has taken advantage of the collections feature to promote her blog.

Its clear cherylds78 and gabbi_fresh are not you average ebay user. They have taken advantage of these new

features as another way use to build their brand as a fashion blogger.

Now of course popular sellers have taken advantage of the collections feature to further push their products.

User fashion102030 is a popular seller for Plus size women’s fashion with collections Featuring items for items they are selling.

Of course there are “regular” users like us who use these collections just for personal pleasure.

bbrgkristin uses her collections more as a wish list for herself. Lists in her collection range from “bag lady” to “Kitchen Queen.”

Despite bbrgkristin not having a blog to promote or items, she has still found

herself amongst bloggers, retailers, and popular sellers on the trending collections page.

Something we noticed in observing both Cherylds78 and bbrgkristin

collections is that both users created a collection with the hashtag

#EbayMom

#’s on ebay?

Are we missing something?

Turns out there was a reason behind the #eBayMom

Creating this collection not only gives you a chance to win a $500 ebay shopping spree but ebay will donate

$1 for every gift collection created AND SHARED.

The #eBayMom contest is not the first of it’s kind.

ebay also hosted a #ImBornTo contest encouraging users to create a collection based off of this inspiration.

However, this contest gave the opportunity to win a $5,000 ebay shopping spree.

Ebay user Cherylds78 wrote this post on her fashion blog to announce the contest to her followers. She also featured the #eBayMom contest too.

Found at the bottom of each blog post is this disclosure.

So it turns out Cherylds78 was not just using ebay to promote her blog.

ebay was also using Cherylds78 and her community of followers to their

advantage to promote this new feature.

And of course to use this new collection feature to tie it back to what ebay has always been about.

Ebay auctions

Of course ebay collections are not just about

fashion…

Collections can feature just about anything From …

Cars

Tools

Household items

AMAZING comic book collectables

Or random 90’s nostalgia

Ultimately what has always made ebay so successful is the trust the

website offers to it’s buyers and sellers.

How does ebay build trust among buyers and sellers?

Here is what buyers and sellers had to say…

“We gain the trust of our eBay customers by providing excellent customer service and by communicating often and in a timely manner by answering any and all inquiries about an item a customer may have. We also pack each item with care and ship it out as soon as possible usually within 1 business day.”*

*www.ebay.com

“I try to gain the trust of my buyers by post plenty of pictures of my product so they can see it in detail and know its quality. Also, a lengthy description is always good because it shows them you aren't hiding any surprises about the product. It helps to allow for returns of product, because then they known if they aren't happy with the item they can return it for a refund and that is always comforting to the buyer.”

The quality of the pictures and a detailed description of the item or items being sold also plays a role in building trust.

“Most sellers on eBay welcome questions before you actually bid on items. This is a great way to build trust between sellers and buyers. One of the best ways to judge a seller is by the feedback they have received. I usually go through a bunch of feedback reviews and make a decision based on that. It helps.”

Based off these interviews that were conducted it is clear that the trust built among buyers and sellers is extremely important. A buyer having positive feedback plays a vital role in whether or not a seller will chose to buy an item from a particular seller.

In an article posted on ecommercebytes.com by Ina Steiner, she writes that recent improvements made to the

buyer and seller feedback system helps buyers and sellers develop security in the purchases they make.

Ebay was quoted in the article stating “"With this change, sellers will be able to make much better use of the ratings to continually refine their selling practices - and deliver

the great service you expect."

“The new changes include removing anonymity from Detailed Seller Ratings(DSRs), which are a set of four criteria buyers used to judge each transaction: Item as described; Communication; Shipping time; and Shipping and handling charges.”

-Ina Steiner EcommerceBytes.com

Overall, ebay continues to move forward in making changes to keep up with the growing social media world around them. While still keeping true to the

original intent of the site.

We feel the new direction ebay has taken will continue to bring them many more years of

success.

We are off to create our own #eBayMom collections now.

THANK YOU!

Works Cited   eBay. (n.d.). Electronics, Cars, Fashion, Collectibles, Coupons and More. Retrieved March 6, 2014, from http://www.ebay.com   Money at the speed of life.. (n.d.). Send Money, Pay Online or Set Up a Merchant Account. Retrieved April 1, 2014, from http://www.paypal.com O'Reilly, L. (2012, October 11). Ebay's redesign will make it a super store. Marketing Jobs & Marketing News. Retrieved March 25, 2014, from http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/opinion/ebays-redesign-will-make-it-a-super-store/4004273.article  Stiener, I. (2014, March 25). Some Hail eBay's Latest Attempt to Improve Feedback. Retrieved March 26, 2014, from http://www.ecommercebytes.com/cab/abn/y14/m03/i25/s01