eBay is No Longer Bargain Basement

Posted by Paul on September 13, 2013

Ebay was once seen as the place to go for those seeking rare or specific second hand items at bargain basement prices. Ebayers were often hunting for bargains, cheap deals and looking to save pennies. As a consumer-to-consumer platform, people would buy and sell from each other in something akin to the biggest jumble sale there's ever been.

But things changed.

Start-ups, entrepreneurs and small businesses started using the platform to sell B2C (business-to-consumer), albeit at very low prices because of their low overheads and the competition from cheap second-hand goods in the market place.

Slowly though, eBay has changed.

Some of the start-ups and entrepreneurs did well. Very well. eBay-only businesses sprang up, taking on staff, renting warehouse space. Some small businesses adapted to the platform. Selling on eBay became a skill in its own right. Listings became better, branded with company logos and with professional product photography.

Ebay embraced the use of its platform by businesses and allowed them to create their own "stores" which displayed only their products almost like a mini-website on eBay. In 2008 they introduced an anonymous feedback mechanism out of 5 stars across 4 vectors of performance. Sellers with over 4.3 out of 5 started to appear higher in searches. The concept of "Power Sellers" was introduced to reward companies that consistently provided and excellent buying experience.

Today eBay is no longer the mishmash of cheap, second-hand goods that it started out as. It is in fact one of the biggest marketplaces in the world that retailers large and small should embrace.

Unfortunately, many retailers haven't witnessed the transformation of eBay and still associate the brand with cheap, poor quality goods and zero-profit margins. This is no longer the case - and if you still need convincing of this, just take a look at these brands on eBay:

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