In computer news this week, 07/09/2002

The Ebay phenomenom ... Maybe you could call it the world's biggest yardsale

Where can you shop for anything from a jet plane to the tiniest most trivial useless item you can imagine? Why on Ebay of course - ebay.com is the worlds biggest online flea market. An estimated 50 million people from all over the world shop there - the only thing they have in common is that they all have computers.

Aside from that, there may be 50 million different interests. Can you buy really high quality items on Ebay ? Of course ! Can you buy absolute junk on Ebay? Of course - proving the saying that one person's junk is another person's treasure. In a recent Newsweek article on Ebay it was pointed out that one woman was able to sell old used ballet slippers for more than 10 times what she thought they were worth. And the term "even the kitchen sink" rings true on Ebay, with people selling or coveting kitchen sinks along with all other household items.

Ebay began as an electronic place to trade - of all off the wall items - Pez dispensers - the children's candy that comes in an assortment of cartoon characters. A guy started Ebay in his apartment in 1995 and now is worth billions. Today sales are spiraling over $ 750 million annually and the company has been profitable in every quarter. The company makes money through listing fees or charging a percentage of all items sold.

What sets Ebay apart from other retailing operations is that Ebay and its users think of itself as a community - not as a store. Ebay itself has 3000 employees but it carries no inventory - all the items for sale are owned by the people in the Ebay community who want to sell them. So the Ebay employees are really administrative workers. The unique thing about Ebay is that everything is based on trust and public disclosure of information. A buyer trusts a seller to send them the product they paid for. You would think that fraud and deception would be a big problem, but Ebay claims this amounts to only 1/10 of 1 percent of all transactions, and offenders are prosecuted.

Ebay basically works as an auction site. Sellers lists items for sale and put a minimum value on it, and then buyers bid up until the bids close. The high bidder then wins the bid and can buy the item.

What is so interesting about the Ebay is what a huge market it is - 9 million potential buyers a day; over 18,000 categories of goods, and virtually everything under the sun for sale.

My personal experiences with Ebay are somewhat limited. I did have a friend who was trying to buy a hard to find old video and bought it on Ebay at a good price in good condition. I had a client who tried creating a website to sell pool supplies, going through all the trials and tribulations of building and maintaining a website, trying to build traffic and attract buyers, who found they could sell much more profitably and effectively on Ebay.

In looking for really hard to find items I found the original pc that started the microcomputer revolution - the Mits Altair - selling for $ 1800. Childhood toys - Lone Ranger cap pistols - erector sets - robbie the robot - all for sale on Ebay.

Making it really hard I searched for a tuned anvil - nothing. But I found several real anvils selling for under $ 800 - guess I just have to hope it rings true, if I buy it. And if I don't like it, I could probably sell it on Ebay.

So the next Saturday morning you start to get in your car and go yard saleing, you might find exactly what you want - faster and cheaper - on Ebay - without leaving your house..

For Raw Bytes, This is Frank Delaney

POB 222 Spangle, Wa 99031 (509)245-3736 624-7230