Why do you think eBay is such a successful site?

United States
February 12, 2007 9:48am CST
Over the years I've seen eBay rocket to the top! I; myself; am an eBay seller & I love it. I was wondering tho .... was/is it the sellers & buyers who made eBay such a success? Was/is it the advertising that eBay did/does that made it successful? Or, is it a combination of both? There are other online auction-type sites on the web, and I've tested the waters with it, as others I know of have also .... but, sales aren't as good there as on eBay (for those I've spoken with and myself, anyway). The rates; on some; were even less than eBay to list. Why, I wonder, are they not as successful? Personally, I believe it's a combination of it all that played a role in their huge success. And, I don't understand why the sellers & buyers weren't rewarded for their contribution to this success by eBay. Listing fees have increased a bit, which means less profit for the seller, in turn that forces an increase of the opening bid price to a potential buyer in order to compensate! What's your opinion?
1 response
JJLoa44
@JJLoa44 (346)
• Canada
12 Feb 07
I think it was a combination of all these things, but I think the first advantage they had is that they were the first ones to really get that idea off the ground. I mean, after they did create the auction environment, other big companies tried to get on board, but eBay was the first company to do it large scale and prove that it could be done, and I think it's really hard for any other company to beat that type of precedent setting behaviour!