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What is eBay and is it difficult to use? |
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Written by Jeff Grundy
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Saturday, 26 April 2008 13:48 |
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ebay the basics.
by JeffGrundy
ebay the basics.
It has been around for about 13 years now, since it was founded in 1995 in San Jose, California by a computer programmer, Pierre Omidyar and it has the distinction of being one of the few internet businesses with a single business focus to have consistently made a profit from the start. Originally known as AuctionWeb, eBay now includes well-known internet sites such as PayPal, Skype and Shopping.com.
With some 276 million registered users and about 1.3 million sellers ebay is massive. Auctions can be found in over 39 markets around the world. Evolving from just auctions to fixed-priced purchasing also ebay generates an astounding $2,039 in sales every second, 24 hours a day.Items includes pretty much anything you can think of.
Starting out auctioning used collectibles and goods, ebay's growth has grown to include all sorts of new products along with much unwanted goods. Ebay thieves on one mans garbage is another mans treasure. Whole businesses has grown out of ebay's auctions.
How easy is it to use?
You would think such a large company based on service would do it's best to keep the process simple and fun to use. Yet many feel this not the case. A sample quote speaks what many others also believe. "It is unfortunate that eBay has gotten more and more complicated than when I had first joined in 1999. I have to say, eBay.com was faster, more efficient, and was much easier to use back then. I've spent a lot of time on eBay and you would think that it would get easier and easier to use. However, because they keep adding features, it is actually getting more difficult to use. What a shame."
In an effort to continually improve upon the system , while at the same time add on many new features, seems to have created ebays complexity issuers from the sellers standpoint. Yet it appears it is theses very same troubling features that keep the sellers coming back for more and more profitable auctions. There are certainly two sides to every story.
Personal experience in buying through eBay has been relatively simple. Where the buyer is concerned, once you have registered the biggest problem is finding exactly what you want among the millions of items for sale. Of course, there is always the possibility of fraud and you need to read the advertisements and the seller's feedback carefully to avoid being 'had'.
Final Words
Sure from the the buyers stand point ebay is pretty easy to use. From the sellers view point maybe not so easy. Yet the ability to put your product or service in front on millions of buyers for very little expense, makes it all worth it in the long run. Knowing the rules as in any game, makes it easier to play and a lot more fun.
Have fun, enjoy the excitement of a live auction, just be careful not to get carried away. You want to purchase what you want, not be taken to the cleaners.
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