There are dozens of online auction web sites, but there is only one eBay.
The largest and most active online trading post, eBay has created on the Internet the atmosphere of a rowdy street market, complete with a colourful cast of characters behind the stalls and crowds of shoppers jostling to see the goods.
To many of eBay?s millions of buyers and sellers, the web site represents far more than an online resource. It has become a form of entertainment and, in some cases, a means of earning a living.
Each day, eBay hosts over 1.4m auctions with 250,000 new items added to the ?for sale? list every 24 hours. On average, about 800,000 bids a day are placed.
Collectors are the foundation of eBay?s success. Whether their passion is baseball cards or beanie babies, stamps, books or figurines, they are among the most avid users of the eBay auction system.
Jon Bertolino of Illinois collects and sells Hot Wheels model cars and old toys. Since discovering eBay early last year, he has been doing 90 per cent of his business on the web site. In contrast to mailing lists and magazines for collectibles, eBay gives everybody a chance to bid on an item, he says.
?On eBay, you just bid, and you decide how much you are willing to pay.? However, since its foundation in late 1995, eBay has broadened the scope of its auctions to include over 1,000 product categories, ranging from computers to second-hand clothing.
As well as enabling individuals to sell items they no longer want, eBay has also become an online distribution channel for many small businesses. ?Michael? of California, was the proprietor of an antiques store. ?I closed my store last year when I found I could gross the same amount with one-twelfth of the expense, using eBay and trade shows,? he says.
EBay has become a part of its users? lifestyles, the company explains. ?Many users have created second businesses, or quit day jobs altogether, by selling items on eBay.? While many of the best known ?portal? web sites still struggle to establish user loyalty, eBay appears to have achieved a sense of online ?community? through the common interests of its users.
The web site includes several ?chat rooms? where users gather to swap messages about their hobbies, advise one another on computer problems or simply ?hang out?. According to Media Metrix, a market research group that tracks activity on the world wide web, eBay is the number three shopping site on the web and the 20th most visited site.
Inevitably, perhaps, in a medium that shields the identity of buyers and sellers until a transaction is completed, there are some people who take advantage of the service to cheat buyers out of their money. Although eBay does not file fraud complaints on behalf of its members, the company insists that reported cases of fraud represent less than one-hundredth of one per cent of all the transactions conducted on the web site.
EBay also goes to considerable lengths to protect users from sharp operators. Each registered user has a ?feedback? rating, based upon comments submitted by people he or she has done business with. Users can access those comments to determine whether prior transactions have gone smoothly and whether buyers were satisfied.
Similarly, sellers can find out whether the winning bidder in their actions has failed to pay for items previously purchased. Nonetheless, consumer complaints about online auction transactions are on the rise. According to Internet Fraud Watch, operated by the US National Consumer League, the total number of complaints about Internet transactions increased by 600 per cent last year. The increase in complaints largely reflects the growth in electronic commerce over the past year.
?More people are online and more people are getting scammed,? says Susan Grant, director of Internet Fraud Watch. ?Consumers need to remember that con artists are everywhere ? even in cyberspace.?
However, the consumer advocacy group noted an alarming rise in the proportion of complaints related to online auctions. In 1997, complaints about auctions represented 26 per cent of the total. Last year, reports of fraudulent auctions increased to 68 per cent of the total according to http://bestpennyauctionsonline.com.
?Many people who participate in online auctions have good experiences, but the increase in complaints points to the need for more consumer protection and increased education,? says Ms Grant. IFW has been working with eBay and other auction companies to stop fraud.
The consumer group recommends that individuals use escrow services, such as that offered by eBay, to protect themselves when making large purchases or sales via online auction sites. However, as anyone who has bought goods in a street market is well aware, the old axiom ?buyer beware? should never be forgotten.
Still, the fun of searching for a bargain remains a big draw and business on eBay is booming. A relatively new kid on the block seeking to challenge ebay?s dominance is quibids. Although, for the time being it?s still being left in the dust as many people are still not sure how quibids works.
Source: http://medievaljapan.org/online-mecca-for-avid-collectors/
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