yDiscussion Questions 1. What are the key success factors for eBay? eBay is an efficient way to reach consumers and other businesses. Some also sees it as an opportunity to sell bulk lots of unsold inventory by helping buyers get the best price for their items and letting customers decide the price they want to pay for products, it had created a pricing revolution. eBay itself also doesn’t buy any inventory or own the products on its site. It earns its money by collecting a fee for the auction listing, plus commission when the sale is completed. Although it started from the auction site, it has also evolved to offer a fixed-price “buy it now” option to buyers who didn’t want to wait for an auction and were willing to pay the price set by the seller. Now, eBay is positioning itself as a global giant: part international swap meet, part clearing house for the world’s manufacturers and retailers. 2. Where is eBay Vulnerable? What should it watch out for?
Although eBay is the largest online shopping site, it stills has to be aware of the changes/problems in technology as it is growing fast everyday. It also has to be aware of the credibility of the sellers; are they trusted enough to be selling on the site? In case anything happens, the site is going to pay for the damage losses. Sometimes, the consumers could change their buying patterns and priorities, so this is another thing the site should watch out for. More tricky problem, the owner should be updated in the changes in law about the taxation online or even the government taking over the site. Most importantly, since eBay became the defacto arbiter of price, where consumer or businessperson who wanted to know the “going price” of the products use it as an informal guide to market value, the site is at risk for having the competitors of other auction-type websites. Also, be aware of those companies who used