Despite Its Dominance, Some Sellers Seek eBay Alternatives

[pierrelebel]

By David A. Utter
EcommerceBytes.com
September 16, 2013

http://www.ecommercebytes.com/cab/abn/y13/m09/i16/s02

"It may be that the next big idea on the internet will be the next generation of an online marketplace, likely one with multiple payment options, fully usable on smartphones and tablets as well as desktop PCs, sufficient buyer and seller protections, and the ability to offer or accommodate seller tools. Until then, eBay looks like it will always merit consideration for sellers."

[bb_cool_stuff]

eBay will hit its peak eventually but i don't see that time coming anytime soon.

An alternate site would have to find a niche much like the craft site has. How well they & the sellers do, I.m not sure.

Too many sites have tried to compete with eBay & have dropped off the map. Remember Yahoo Auctions ?

That is why it is always best to have connections offline.

[pierrelebel]

"Remember Yahoo Auctions ? "

Sure do.  I was selling there back on 1998, I was also selling on Amazon auction in those days. I even tried Microsoft when they opened an auction site in 1999.  It did not last very long.

"alternate site would have to find a niche much like the craft site has"

In fact, there are many such "niche" sites and they do very well.  Looking at the stamps for collectors business specifically, there are at least three online sites offering more items than eBay. While some sites still allow the auction format for some listings, most have moved to the fixed price format since this is what most buyers prefer to see.

One of the sites is managed by the American Philatelic Society, where they do not have some of the ill advised restrictions imposed by eBay (such as not allowing stamps from Burma, etc...).  I say "ill advised" because there is no law preventing the listing and sale of most of the items restricted by eBay.  The restriction was a political decision, nothing else.

If one looks around, you will find many other sites for other specialties.

In conclusion, while eBay remains the overall leader, there are many viable alternatives available to sellers in "niche" markets.  Viable does not mean cheaper.  The APS charges 20% commission.  Yet, sellers are very happy to use the service where they find tens of thousands of qualified buyers.

[i*m-still-here]

There was one site mentioned in the blog which I wasn't even aware of until now, but I just took a peek.

WoW.........

It looks like virtually all of the items listed in my categories are also listed on eBay, but there are a lot of items listed on that site.

Many are from well-known eBay sellers.

EBay (still)  has more items of course........... But the site is definitely a contender.

[mr.elmwood]

eBay will hit its peak eventually

Not neccessarily so. Most people, and I do mean most, I talk to have no comprehension of eBay. There is a huge untapped market. This last X-Mas selling season, B&M was up 1% and on-line was up 22% from posted figures I saw. The ads Canada Post is running are all about parcel shipping.

More and more, people are deciding that local shopping is lousy. Poor selection, high prices. lousy service. They are doing their shopping from their mobile device. They can search, compare, buy, have it delivered.

The dot com craze of the 90's was not wrong, just ahead of it's time. Back then, folks had to sit down, get the kids off the phone, crank up the Commodore, wade along through 14.4 dialup. Now? What can't ya do standing at a bus stop with yer phone in yer hand?

Amazon and eBay are becoming the WalMart of the internet with all their growth potential ahead of them.

[rose-dee]

---

@pierrelebel wrote:

"It may be that the next big idea on the internet will be the next generation of an online marketplace, likely one with multiple payment options, fully usable on smartphones and tablets as well as desktop PCs, sufficient buyer and seller protections, and the ability to offer or accommodate seller tools. Until then, eBay looks like it will always merit consideration for sellers."

---

Actually, this sounds like a fairly accurate description of what eBay has been morphing into over the past year. 

[i*m-still-here]

......... and so I just bought my first item on this other site.

Thank You.   

I don't think eBay's reached it's peak either, but every day I see that a transformation is taking place.

All of these sites have a place and each one is good for something

EBay is very threatening for buyers and sellers alike and some people just don't care for that.

When you invite everyone into the mall there are repercussions.

[bb_cool_stuff]

No it has not reached its peak, that is why i added, eventually but i don't see that time coming anytime soon.

Niche & secondary market sites are great as they offer an alternative selling experience in addition to selling on eBay.

Win, win for everybody.

I just wish they could do something about the tons of Counterfeit Product that was tossed from eBay but has found its way on to Kijiji.

When you invite everyone into the mall there are repercussions.

???

Do you mean sellers discounting to the point where they are left with razor thin margins ?

[i*m-still-here]

When you let everyone into the mall you have to spend a lot of energy policing the mall or there will be chaos.

The way sellers of new items operate is much different than the way I buy and sell and it's not something I understand at all, and so discounting to the point of making pennies/item is not on my radar.

(Of course I do see that selling like that has benefits too because each sale takes much less effort and it's all about volume.)

EBay is catering to sellers like that as far as I can see:  Electronics and new items ............ dollar store items right on up to high end fashions at prices I only gag at.

Is there any other site that does that?  I don't know.

While collectors etc. were what gave eBay life, they are no longer the heart of eBay but are still here on the sidelines.

I buy and sell here, but less and less all the time.

I do have to add ............ although off topic but related in a way:  eBay is not very Canadian friendly.  Buyers and sellers are made aware every day that it's an American game played by American rules.  Sorry to bring up the GSP but that's just the latest slap.

IMO all of that is very important as well because International buyers and sellers have their limits too.

[bb_cool_stuff]

Half time, hope the second half is better for the Vikings.

Could be a myriad of reasons as to why some sellers list their items the way they do.

I would think panic has set in for a lot of sellers in some categories as money is still owed on credit.

Some sellers, i guess, just don't have the patience to grow a business.

To be fair the competition was not as fierce when the regulars first started.

[i*m-still-here]

Say What?    Too much beer during the first half?

[cumos55]

eBay has been evolving in step with the internet.... and will continue to evolve.

The only group that can set up a new eBay is eBay itself, mainly because it has the "technology" to do so.

Small selling sites work  because they limit what is sold there..  specialty sites.

Only eBay has succeeded where others have chosen not to compete.

What is eBay?... A very large cyber mall...

Many look for other places to sell... mainly because eBay is finite in the number of potential buyers  that routinely come to eBay to buy....

eBay has it problems.....  and will continue to make adjustment in relation to those problems....

In order to be effective on eBay, one has to keep up to date.... and know how to use eBay.... and some cannot keep up to eBay... or are unwilling to follow ebay's rule.

Perhaps  the one single biggest adjustment to selling on eBay is...  Knowing what NOT to do.......

eBay makes adjustments... and sellers adjust according to what eBay does..... 

As long as there are people willing to buy... there will be sellers  on eBay... and eBay will continue in spite of what many say about its demise.....

Many sellers find it difficult to sell on eBay.  However, there are many sellers willing to adjust and continue selling on eBay.... and above all  many new sellers....

eBay dominates  because there is no alternative.....  except for specialty sites.... and it will be like that  for years, maybe decades to come.

[bb_cool_stuff]

 Maybe too much Diet Dr Pepper. I like the feeling of being bloated like a sea frog.

Not much drinking goes on in this household.

Don't really like the taste.

[pierrelebel]

"eBay dominates  because there is no alternative.....  except for specialty sites...."

At the end of the day, the decision really is made by buyers, not sellers. 

As long as eBay remains the destination for buyers, the site will continue to prosper. If buyers find another destination where they feel they get a comprehensive selection of products at more competitive (lower) prices and more welcoming terms, they will go there.

In my world (stamps for collectors) eBay is no longer the first site that comes to mind for many buyers looking to add stamps to their collection or dealers looking for wholesale deals to add to their inventory.  The same may be true for other categories of products.

[mr.elmwood]

Many sellers find it difficult to sell on eBay.  However, there are many sellers willing to adjust and continue selling on eBay...

That is so true. Hang out at SC dot com and read the ones that can't and won't. The venom they spew at eBay and buyers. They really should not be selling, at all, to anyone.

Friend of mine in the US sells as nanettestore. He is the epitomy of embracing change, upgrades, new tech. He believes that he can do better and sell more. Poco gave me pages to digest of amazingly insightful understanding.

All of my eggs are not in one basket, but, geez, as long as this works I don't have to get a real job.

[bb_cool_stuff]

Improvise, Adapt & Kick Butt.

Yes, eBay is forever evolving & we have to evolve along with it.

The Good Ole Days on eBay are over & will probably never be the same they were eight to ten years ago.

Bottom line, it is still fun.

Fun to receive a high price on a low cost item & fun to find a unique item not for sale on eBay (happened yesterday).

When it stops being fun, i will close the store, but i don't see that ever happening.

Its always nice to see how the regulars have continued to find a way to make it work. 

[dipmicro]

I think Ebay is doing well because Google allows it.

Consider this, Ebay has market capitalization 72B, and Dolarama has 6B. That is single company in tiny 35M nation. We have hundreds or even thousands companies like Dolarama in this nation. Americans have at least 10x more. How much of the world retail commerce is going through Ebay ? 0.01%, 0.001% ? Somewhere there.

If Ebay were to grow rapidly, they would already done so. Very few companies reinvent themselves, even though all of them try at some point. Google has excellent track record of innovating (search, email, maps, mobile computing, etc), so nobody doubts they could create a revolution again (e.g. self-driving cars, already tested and street legal in Nevada). But what is the chance the company who caused one revolution in 1995 and since then has been massaging it's business model and changing thing around and is practically stalled, will create something magical once again ?

I also don't think any of these websites who desperately try to immitate Ebay will do any harm. There is simply no pull, you cannot innovate by immitation (although Microsoft is desperately trying so and they keep failing). There is going to be a kid, not dissimilar to Mark Zuckenberg and his useless but uberpopular website, who will rock the world of ecommerce and captures 1-2% of all world retail commerce, much more than Ebay ever had.

[i*m-still-here]

I don't know about google.......... but I think eBay is doing well because they go for quantity and not quality.

They let everyone in to list here and then try to control the riff-raff after-the-fact via FB and DSRs.   

(It's also interesting that another major site has just done away with FB in favor of a review system.)

I'm not saying it's a bad thing to allow everyone in here.  In fact, we need a site like that too and I will always buy and sell  here too.

Also, it is possible that eBay is close to it's saturation point.  

At this stage I think that everyone who is inclined to buy on-line is already doing so, and by now everyone who is going to own a mobile device or computer owns one.

If online sales were booming with a constant growth, then the CPO and USPS wouldn't be in constant trouble, would they?

The business they lost when letter mail declined due to electronic delivery would have been taken up by eBay etc. parcels.

BUT that's not happening, and that's a pretty good indication of what's going on with online shopping.

It's not for everyone and never will be.

[bb_cool_stuff]

but I think eBay is doing well because they go for quantity and not quality.

Also, it is possible that eBay is close to it's saturation point.

In some categories you are dead on.

[mr.elmwood]

I*m, on-line sales are up, but I would hesitate to say "booming". Vast majority of folks still get in their cars and drive to the mall. Retail sales were up 1% on a huge base last X-Mas. On-line sales were up 22% on a smaller base so it takes fewer transactions to show a significant increase.

Compared to 2008, Canada Post is now delivering 23.6 per cent less Transaction Mail per address.

Is anyone here making up that difference in parcels?

Here in Belleville, give or take a Pierre, there is me and another guy firing off parcels from the main PO. "Me and another guy".

Phones? I do not have one. I will end up getting one. Within a few years it will be the only thing people carry. It will be yer wallet, passport, plane ticket, bus pass, hotel reservation, start yer car, unlock your house, drivers license, car insurance, health card, cash, cheques, debit card, credit card.

Maybe I'm worng. Maybe you are right. Me, I see so much change coming it is mind boggling.