06-11-2007, 09:01 AM
Quote:eBay needs to move beyond its own site not just because that's where shoppers are. So are its merchants. Some of its most successful sellers have moved on to sell items through their own storefronts, using Google's search advertising platform to drive traffic to those sites. They don't stop selling on eBay, but they begin giving the site less of their premium merchandise and more of the kinds of items they're willing to sell at a bargain. "As sellers mature, eBay goes from their channel of first resort to their channel of last resort," says Wingo.
To avoid becoming a bargain basement, eBay has to encourage sellers to keep listing more of their higher-end inventory on the site while attracting more young businesses. Better merchandise brings in more buyers which, in turn, attracts more sellers. EBay can also kick-start the cycle by attracting more buyers through efforts such as eBay To Go and the Facebook integration. "They should be aggressively going after the people who don't have online businesses yet," says Tim Boyd, an analyst at American Technology Research Inc.
Grabbing buyers, as well as business, outside of eBay's core shopping platform will be a significant challenge. Competition on the Web is fierce, and eBay must contend not just with other e-commerce companies looking for buyers' and sellers' business but also with myriad Web entertainment and social sites seeking to grab their time. ...
full article: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/con...op+stories