I knew that the main reasons behind my eBay business dive were fewer bidders and higher fees but Steve outlines a number of facts from various sources that will clearly show why eBay is in trouble...
- eBay is growing slower than the rest of eCommerce
- 41% of eBay's users apparently quit in 2006
- 56 million active users in 2005 grew to 78 million active users in 2006, but during that time, eBay added 45 million new registered users
- 56 million active users in 2005 grew to 78 million active users in 2006, but during that time, eBay added 45 million new registered users
- 100 of eBay's top 1,000 U.S. eBay sellers by feedback rating have either quit eBay or gone out of business
- Based on my detailed analysis of The Sellathon 10,000 data for August 2006
- Based on my detailed analysis of The Sellathon 10,000 data for August 2006
- 59% of eBay's sellers apparently plan to stop selling on the eBay platform in the next six months
- Here is the AuctionBytes survey of 1,225 eCommerce merchants
- Here is the AuctionBytes survey of 1,225 eCommerce merchants
- A number of high profile, large sellers have gone out of business on eBay in 2006
- eBay prices are a fraction of what sellers can get on other channels
- Jonathan Garriss at GothamCityOnline, one of eBay's largest shoe sellers, says prices are 20-50% lower on eBay than on his other sales channels, and we have many, many merchant customers that will confirm this amazing statistic
- Jonathan Garriss at GothamCityOnline, one of eBay's largest shoe sellers, says prices are 20-50% lower on eBay than on his other sales channels, and we have many, many merchant customers that will confirm this amazing statistic
- The fraud problem continues to grow
- No official eBay figures here because eBay quit sharing the data with FTC and Fraud.org, but anyone working in the space will have a strong opinion on this
- No official eBay figures here because eBay quit sharing the data with FTC and Fraud.org, but anyone working in the space will have a strong opinion on this
- Tiffany & Co (TIF), Louis Vitton (LVMH), and Christian Dior (DIOR) have all filed lawsuits against eBay suggesting that 90+% of the goods sold on eBay claiming to be produced by these brands are in fact counterfeit
- eBay's stock is down almost 48% from its high as of today (9/27/06)
- You can research eBay's stock at Google Finance
Your point about 'eBay prices are a fraction of what sellers can get on other channels' is right on target. When I talk to new potential wholesale suppliers, I find that many of them have very restrictive policies against selling on eBay. Sometimes their policies name eBay by name, other times they just refer to 'online auction sites'. In most cases, they're perfectly OK with selling their product on other online channels like your own website or even Amazon. Wholesale suppliers are well aware of this 'bargain basement phenomenon' and don't embrace it.
Posted by: SBA business loans | November 28, 2007 7:36 AM | Permalink to Comment