Week 8

• eBay is one of the only major Internet "pure plays" to consistently make a profit from its inception. What is eBay's business model? Why has it been so successful? 
• Ebay was seen to do largely with the C2C area where users goods (stuff found at a garage sale) were sold. Since they ebay have moved onto a more Merchant model that sees more wholesalers and Ebay stores opening up.The reason why Ebay is so successful is due to its high available (can sell/buy goods 24/7), ease of purchase, has no geographical constraints, competitive prices and no site costs that are associated with purchases.

• Other major web sites, like Amazon.com and Yahoo!, have entered the auction marketplace with far less success than eBay. How has eBay been able to maintain its dominant position? 
• Ebay is the original online auction site, so starting off with a large user base from the beginning has helped. Once Ebay was set up with many users worldwide starting to use everyday, is was hard for smaller auction sites to break the market.

• What method does eBay use to reduce the potential for fraud among traders on its site? What kinds of fraud, if any, are eBay users most susceptible? 
• Fraud is dealt by ebay firstly with the use of the feedback system. Generally if you see 1000 feedback reviews, with 99% of them positive, it would be easier to trust than a site that has 50% positive feedback. Also with paypal partnering with Ebay is makes users feel safer to user the site. 

• eBay makes every effort to conceptualize its users as a community (as opposed to, say "customers" or "clients"). What is the purpose of this conceptual twist and does eBay gain something by doing it?
• There are no hosting fees associated with ads on ebay.And a small percentage of the final sale is paid to Ebay at the end of the auction as a broker fee. They find that personalising their business and making the users feel more at home, they can instil trust in the compay therefore makeing users revisit the site over an over again. With out frequent users there would be no Ebay.

• eBay has long been a marketplace for used goods and collectibles. Today, it is increasingly a place where major businesses come to auction their wares. Why would a brand name vendor set-up shop on eBay?
• Advantages of a brand name setting up shop on Ebay would include:
• Big access to  a large user base
• No Website hosting costs.
• No Admin fees - ebay handles of these transaction costs.
• Low staff costs - this is all dealth with Ebay

• I have a few businesses, and I have used eBay for about 12 years on and off. Currently I have about 600 books listed on eBay (seller name ozrural). I stopped selling on eBay for a few years but they changed the rules this July and it is viable again (for me). What do you think changed?
• In 2010, ebay reintroduced their accepted payments policy. This increases protection of both buying and selling partied which offers them with a few types of different trusted payment methods.