eBay Review
eBay Review
I'm going to start this article, by asking a very fundamental question for you! What are the things in your life that you cannot change? What are those activities that not being able to do them is going to cost you a lot?
Well, there are a few items in your mind, aren't there? First, you might say social media! That's many people's first answer. It's true to some extent. We cannot live without it. Calling your friends abroad, chatting about the latest news, enjoying your free time, watching informative content, and many more are all happening inside the fantastic world of social media.
Online Shopping, an Amazing Invention!
OK! What else? What is the thing that is just as important as social media? Perhaps, many people would say online shopping! Again, that's so true! It is practically impossible to think of those days when you used to get out of the house to buy something to drink, clothes, electronics, etc. Now, you can buy them all online! At first, not everybody trusted the system! Paying online when you don’t see the shop or the salesperson was a bit of a risk? However, we trust online shopping so much!
e-Commerce Corporations, The Driving Forces of Online Shopping
First, what does e-commerce mean? Actually, it refers to all activities related to buying and selling things online. Although online shopping is trendy and common these days, you cannot expect people to enter any random website and buy things.
The element of trust is the key here. You need to make sure your purchase will be easy and user-friendly. Also, security matters a lot. You don’t want to enter your payment information when you are unsure if the owner will misuse it in the future.
That's why people prefer to choose big names in the industry when it comes to e-commerce corporations.
The Big Names In The Industry, That Advanced It
Right now, the competition is on fire. Many companies are competing to be the most trusted e-commerce company in the world. You should know that most of these companies are located in the US.
We also have a lot in China and Germany. I'm sure you have heard of them several times in your life even if you haven’t bought anything from them. Don’t worry! Sooner or later, you will do so.
Let's check out the list. On the top, you can see Amazon, which is practically ruling the world of online shopping. Wow! The revenue for Amazon in 2020 was more than $385 billion! That's extraordinary because we had a deadly pandemic in 2020.
Also, it is good to know Amazon has nearly 1,300,000 employees! What else? Oh, Alibaba is a Chinese corporation in fourth place with nearly $56 billion in revenue in 2020 and more than 100,000 employees. Netflix, PayPal, Uber, and Adobe are others occupying lower ranks.
OK! Who is standing on the 20th rank of big names in the industry of e-commerce business? I'm sure you have definitely heard of it! It's called eBay!
From now on, we are going to focus on eBay as one of the most successful online businesses with $10 billion revenue in 2020 and more than 13,000 employees located in San Jose, California. Let's kick it off.
Where/what is eBay?
Let's start with the basics. eBay is located in San Antonio, California, US. It= has been operating since 1995. It's one of the biggest multinational companies being active in 32 countries. One of the key elements to this big e-commerce corporation's success is that it's free of charge for buyers.
Also, sellers can have a limited number of free listings. Although eBay mainly focuses on online shopping and is amazingly benefiting from that, it has entered other categories.
By just reviewing the list of eBay's acquisitions, you will realize how powerful eBay is. For example, some of the biggest names in online technologies such as PayPal, Braintree, Kijiji, Craigslist, Skype, StubHub, MissionFish, and many more have been bought by eBay.
Companies under the roof of eBay are active in many countries like Germany, France, South Korea, India, Luxembourg, Sweden, Canada, Turkey, Israel, and many other countries.
The businesses that these companies are working in are very diverse too. They could range from auction houses, online auction, e-commerce payment systems, classified advertising, price comparison service, browser plugin, social network service, image recognition, secondary clothing retailer, and many others.
Are There any Restricted Items on eBay?
Another reason people trust and like eBay is that it doesn’t let people sell whatever they want. In fact, it's amazing when you see a company that doesn’t ruin its reputation for just selling forbidden items that are more lucrative.
There is a long list of items that are forbidden on eBay. These items include Tobacco, Alcohol, Drugs, Firearms and ammunition, Sex toys, Child pornography, Ivory, Knives, Fortune-telling, Witchcraft-related services, and many other items.
How Does eBay Work?
Well, what kind of strategies is eBay using? Actually, eBay helps people make consumer-to-consumer (C2C) and business-to-consumer (B2C) sales. Let see what C2C and B2C mean.
Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C) Sale
First, what about consumer-to-consumer service? The idea is straightforward and rudimentary. Traditionally, people used to go to online shopping websites and buy from businesses.
However, it happens occasionally for people when they have something they don’t need anymore. They have kept that item very clean and in good condition. So, they go to a website like eBay and sell it to other people who might need it.
Pros and Cons Associated with C2C Sales
To answer the pros and cons of C2C, we have to look at the issue from the sellers' and buyers' perspectives.
Pros And Cons of C2C For The Sellers
Let's start with the pros for sellers. First of all, it's profitable for them. They can sell their items and don’t need to be worried about renting premises, staff salaries, website hosting, marketing, use of third parties for product distribution.
Selling C2C is going to be a more customer-based subject. Obviously, everyone with access to the internet can see your products. So, you are not limited to the place you live in. Thanks to eBay's professional shipping, you can sell your products as far away as you want.
Finally, if you don’t have a good reputation as a seller, you will have the chance to use eBay's fame and return to the business. People usually don’t care who the seller is and focus more on the hosting website.
What about the disadvantages of C2C e-commerce for sellers? Well, competition is a major issue since C2C services are hugely popular these days. Sooner or later, a competitor will arrive with cheaper items, and then you are suddenly out!
Payment issues are other challenges for sellers because they often complain that customers have cheated them by paying nothing and receiving the items. Finally, platforms don’t let you sell for free. They want their share too! You have to pay for your platform to keep selling.
Pros And Cons of C2C For The Buyers
What about good and bad things for buyers? Of course, you can find cheaper items in C2C sales. The diversity of items and categories is huge! The service is also a bit faster. However, trusting the seller can sometimes be hard because they advertise items that look great, but when you receive them, they are not satisfactory at all.
The good thing about eBay is that it has tried to minimize the disadvantages and boost both sellers' and buyers' advantages. This is very important because hosting websites often take more care of one side than the other. eBay has been successful in finding a nice balance between sellers' and buyers' needs.
Business-to-Consumer (B2C) Sale
This is the most common way of selling and buying products, right? First, the B2C business model is more stable because a company or producer is on one side. Also, the business is more flexible.
Therefore, more clients will join the business. People usually trust brands and companies more than individuals.
That's enough reason for a better sale. Even though a big brand makes some mistakes, people can forget about them soon. eBay is also very active in this segment.
eBay Categorization Style
What I really like about eBay is the way they categorized all the products.
Their categories include Home & Garden, Electronics, Fashion, Sport & Leisure, Health & Beauty, Toys, Motors, Home Entertainment, Collectables, Deals, and Local.
There are several sub-categories under each major category, which makes it easier for you to find what you are looking for.
The website is amazingly designed with excellent high-quality photos.
Tips for Selling on eBay
Perhaps, you want to start selling on eBay and don’t know how to do it. Here are some simple tips for you to follow:
- Research what the fast-selling products are. They usually have a low price and high demand. So, you can sell them at a competitive price.
- Update your list, price, and other important factors every day.
- The market grows very fast, and some products start being more popular very quickly. So, you have to be ready for that.
- Reply to cases, messages, and disputes before they start spreading.
- Additionally, be aware of out-of-stock items. It kills people's excitement when they click on a product and realize it's out of stock.
- Don’t underestimate the power of SEO in selling.
- If a title is working, don’t overkill it.
- Come up with the most relevant information for your items.
- See what keywords your competitors are using.
- Then, copy them and add your flavour.
- Don’t forget! It doesn’t matter whether you are selling at the best price or quality when nobody can find you on the internet.
eBay And a Bunch of Robust Competitors
Shopping online is one of the most competitive sectors in the industry. This is mainly because of the availability of technologies related to business in many countries.
Definitely, eBay is one of the giants. However, we should mention that the competitors are doing extremely well too.
Let's check out some of these great names in the business. Amazon is eBay's biggest competitor. Etsy, Rakuten, Newegg, Bonanza, Mercari, and eBid are some other ones.
Some of them are specialized in selling and buying specific items. For example, Etsy is one of the best when it comes to selling homemade goods. Or, Newegg is amazing for electronics sellers.
Each of them has its pros and cons. However, it isn't easy to compare them with each other. It mainly depends on your needs and demand.
Conclusion
As we tried to explain here, living without online shopping is a nightmare. Especially during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, we have gotten even more attached to the idea of staying at home and taking care of our needs.
Online shopping enables us to buy things with a few clicks. It has become a multibillion-dollar industry with numerous competitors trying to be the best. eBay is one of these large rivals in a sense.
Here, in this article, we first talked a bit about online shopping. Then, we introduced eBay and discussed some relevant information about it. It's a multinational company letting companies and people sell and buy items on one single website.
We also asked why people trust eBay. Then, we brought up the issue of different methods of making money on it. eBay lets you apply C2C and B2C business methods to it. Both come with their pros and cons. However, eBay has been great in maximizing profits and avoiding unnecessary challenges. We also looked at the extensive categorization eBay has on the website.
So, now, it's up to you! If you are interested in buying and selling on eBay, today is the day! Be careful with the information you need to know before jumping into it. We recommend it to everyone! Take care.
JeannetteZ
Your Opinion Is Important To Me
Thoughts? Ideas? Questions? I would love to hear from you. Please leave me your questions, experiences, remarks, and/or suggestions about this eBay Review. You can also reach me by email at Jeannette@WorkFromAnywhereInTheWorld.com.
Thank you!
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