Why eBay online auctions are so popular
eBay is the most successful of all the online auction sites so far, and is probably the most successful buying, selling and trading forum in human history.
Our analysis of eBay's unparalleled success is simple: eBay solidified its early market share by having the most item lots being auctioned at any given time.
This sudden grabbing of market share was made possible by their easy to use interface between buyer and seller, an incredibly powerful search feature, and a feedback system that helped keep all the various parties in line. In other words, other people were doing it, but eBay seemed to be doing it better.
eBay is now all controllable through it's My eBay tool- a giant, cross-referenced database of a user's own auctions and eBay activities, which has been honed and refined over time by eBay.
The "My eBay" section allows an eBay user to quickly and easily view at a glance: all current bids, items won & lost, items to be paid for, items the user is selling or has sold, when listings begin and end, the starting price, the Buy it Now Price, the reserve price, etc.
Recent and welcome features to the 'My eBay' area allow you to save and store favorite auction searches, favorite sellers, favorite categories, and even favorite eBay stores.
All of this is strengthened and enhanced by the total transparency of the eBay site. Suspect a seller of shill bidding? Just check out their other recent past auctions to see if a trend has developed.
Trying to figure out how much to charge? Check completed auctions for that item.
Same buyer keeps bid sniping and grabbing all those rare deals you wanted to bid on? Type in their User ID and see what else they are currently bidding on. Known as bid shadowing, this can also help you find other sellers who have just what you're looking for.
For more advice like this see our:
Auction Tips • Auction Articles
Is gazillion a real number?
What put eBay at the top very quickly was its advanced features: the largest database of online auction inventory and more importantly, the ease of searching the information through over 27,000 highly compartmentalized item categories.
You can "drill down" through all those categories and subcategories very quickly, until you spot the category page with the types of deals you want. Then you can just browse until you spot that diamond in the rough.
If that doesn't work, try using eBay's powerful search engine and some clever search terms, and let them do the work for you... You can even select an option in your My eBay area to have an e-mail sent to you the moment the item you're looking for is listed for sale!
eBay grabbed the market share early on and was doing it best, with the most online sellers and bidders. The site with the most buyers and sellers, wins.
When companies like Amazon and Yahoo realized this it was too late. Although each added innovations and features to its own auction sites- features that eBay even emulated at times, people selling their stuff simply wanted to list on eBay because that's where all the buyers were.
More sellers, meant more stuff... which meant more buyers... and around the cycle went and continues even now. This recipe for success just fed itself over and over until eBay became what it is today: an internet auction powerhouse with over 100 million dedicated members worldwide.
Read more:
Page 1: eBay auctions: An Introduction
Page 2: How do I use eBay?
Page 3: What kind of stuff can I find on eBay?
Page 4: Auction Feedback: Earning Trust Online
Page 5: eBay Beginners Guide to Avoiding Auction Fraud
Page 6: Why are eBay online auctions so popular?
Page 7: Intro to eBay stores
Page 8: The Power of eBay Search
