An analysis of eBay

INTRODUCTION

1.eBay is known all over the world as the leading online Marketplace (TM) which came in to life in 1995,eBay Inc, was founded by Pierre M. Omidyarand it’s headquartered in San Jose, California, TM (2002). eBay created a special platform for the sales of goods and services by a passionate village of individuals and business. On days there are millions of items across thousand of categories for sale on eBay just like Half.com, eBay’s site dedicated to fixed price trading. eBay allows trade on a Local, National and International basis, with customize site in marketing all over the world.

eBay, together with its sub-visions, bring online marketplaces for the sale of goods and services, online payment services, and online communication offerings to a diverse community of individual and business in the USA and Internationally.

The company operates in three Intentions: eBay Marketplace, Payments, and Communications.

The eBay Marketplaces: This platform provides infrastructure to enable online commerce in a variety of formats, including the traditional auction platform; and its other online platforms, such as Rent.com, Shopping.com, Kijiji, mobile.de, and Marktplaats.nl. Its services include trust and safety programs, reply forum, safe chanel program, eBay standard purchase protection program, customer support, tools and services.

The Payments segment: Feeds a product for small businesses, online sellers, and individuals that enables them to send and receive payments online. Its services include joining the network, crosscheck of its PayPal’s account holders, withdrawing funds.

The Communications segment: provide voice over Internet protocol calls between Skype subscribers, also provides connectivity to traditional fixed-line and handheld telephones. The company also provide online apartment rental services and comparison shopping resource service, as well as provides an Internet payment platform that allows merchants to process, and manage online payments.

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2. MISSION STATEMENT& OBJECTIVE

eBay pioneers communities built on commerce, sustained by trust, and inspired by opportunity. eBay brings together millions of people every day on a local, national and international basis through variety of websites that focus on commerce, payments and communication. This has also help the company in various ways between their numerous customers worldwide. They have engaged in the method stated below.

A Place to Buy. You can get almost anything item you need or want at very low deal better than you can find at any traditional brick and mortar, even online stores. But caution should be taken because of rotten or fake items deals on eBay.

A Place to Sell. No matter the size of our product or services, eBay has various categories channels to sell items. eBay’s global reach can even move unusual items that are not in demand in our own neighborhood in to cash.

A Place to Shop. Large variety of items can be found for sale on eBay, many members have discovered that eBay is one of the best place in the world to window or comparison shop. These items include photos, detailed descriptions, and owner experiences. Because you see lots of the same items side by side in various conditions and know what each one sold or selling for, eBay gives you insight into the real market value of most types of goods around the globe.

A Website:With no physical building eBay store, Founded in San Jose but now carry out daily activities from various cities, eBay’s service exist basically online apart from the delivery of bought and sold items every other network of the business are handled through eBay website.

Socially Responsible: eBay with its B2C way of handling business has lower the barriers to buying and selling, these bring a massive global awareness to it business. It also fosters new economic opportunities to developing areas and brings cultural understanding between different populations. This has made eBay one of the world’s most interesting and exciting trans-national ambassadors.

3.THE IMPACT OF DIGITAL MEDIA ON EBAY

eBay is a cutting edge in commence by selling almost everything be it of what nature with it’s presence in every corners of the globe with no physical store, with limited staffs but satisfy it numerous customer worldwide. But how is this possible?

Social Media Marketing: Recent addition to organizations plans. Integrated marketing communications is a practice organization follow to connect with their target markets.

Integrated marketing communications coordinates promotional elements, advertising, personnel selling, public relations, publicity, direct marketing and sale promotion. Increasingly viral marketing campaigns are also grouped into integrated marketing communications for eBay. The growth of social media has impacted the way organizations communicate, the internet provide set of idea which enable persons to develop social and business platform, share knowhow and collaborate on project online.

Cell Phones: Usage has also become a benefit for eBay media marketing. Today many cell phones have social networking capabilities, individuals are notified of any happenings on social networkingsites through their cell phones in real-time. This constant connection to social networking sites means products and companies can constantly remind and update followers about their capabilities, uses, importance, etc. Since cell phones are connected to social networking sites, advertisements are always in sight.

Computers: The use of computer has come to stay in our daily life be it at home, offices, school, this is one of the basic tools used by eMarketers worldwide, eBay uses the help of computer since they don’t physical store to carry out their daily business and this is done by logging into their website by typing in the URL address with an access from ISP provider.

Once logged in, you see various categorizes of product, prices, description of items and options of payment of items bought. Buying of items online and shipping to every part of the globe is an everyday activity at just by the use of a computer, Newsweek (2004)

Internet Marketing: eBay use the internet known as digital marketing, web marketing, and online marketing is the marketing product and services over the internet. Internet marketing is considered to be broad in scope because it not only refers to marketing on the Internet, but also includes marketing done via e-mail and wirelessmedia. Digital customer data and electronic customer relationship management systems are also often grouped together under internet marketing. This market joins the vast idea and technical background of the Internet, including design, development, advertising, and sales.Internet marketing also refers to the placement of media along many different stages of the customer engagement cycle through search engine marketing on specific websites.

3.1 THE USE OF THE INTERNET BY eBay

The internet as change the landscape of the world in every way things are done in every way things are done globally. Never before have people been able to interact in such a cost effective and comfortable way. The business world as seen a better new of doing its daily activity, business now are done in very short span of time even without the presence of both party at the same place or time. Now it is possible for you to establish your own company with a very small financial investment or in some cases even without any start-up capital. eBay use the internet in carrying of its daily business to meet target market and satisfy it’s customer at a very low cost and maximizing profit.

Information: People worldwide are using the internet on a regular basis, with email and search engines as the most popular services. Information is power. People are able to influence, direct, convince, educate and manipulate others through one single tool: The distribution of information. Email and discussion forums allow people to share their thoughts, ideas and experiences with other people from all corners of the world. Within a relatively short period of time the Internet and its communication channels will be part of our daily lives as are running water and electricity.

Cost Effectiveness: The internet is by far the most effective communication tool. If you want to send a letter via conventional or so-called slow mail, it will cost at least around $1 assuming you restrict yourself to two single sheets of paper. Sending the same amount of information via email will be up to 100 times cheaper with immediate delivery. In addition to this, email with it’s numbers of advantages over the slow mailing system of delivery of messages, sending and get a reply on the spot.

Online Auction: In this massive marketplace, eBay rules the auction sites. According to the Nelison Rating, eBay is among the top ten most trafficked sites on the internet. eBay leads the online auction industry with a more than 60 percent share of the market, its closest competitors, Yahoo! Auctions, is only half its size followed by Amazon.com, all these are done with the help of the internet and makes eBay smile to the bank on daily basis.

Low Cost Operation: Running business requires tons of capital no matter the size of the outfit, the business has to pay for rental shops, offices, motor vehicle, staffs, before it can think of making it’s profit which is the primary idea of the business, but doing online business you cut down your expenses to a very little amount of capital and that is the edge eBay is use to run it’s operations and has really help the business since it does not have physical presence anywhere, it does it’s business around the globe and sell lots of items to it’s customers worldwide. The internet helps eBay in an immeasurable way of cutting down cuts of operations and get to all part of the world without even being there in presence.

4. INTERNET AS A MARKETING PUBLIC RELATIONS TOOLS

Public relations is defined as a management function which identifies, establishes and maintains mutually beneficialrelationships between an organization and the public upon which its success or failure depends. Whereas advertising is aone-way communication from sender to the receiver, public relations considers multiple audiences and uses two way communication to monitor feedback and adjust both it’s messages and the organization’s actions maximum benefit.

The internet is used as a tool in Public Relations and has replaced the use of paper form of notifications and is carried out in method stated below.

Tweeter: Social media is a great way to have a conversation with your market and manage connections with prospects, customer, bloggers. Even if you don’t join Twitter you can monitor what people are saying company, trends, friends and products. This is quite useful from a marketing and PR standpoint. Tweeter has a search engine that let you post any information and can be linked to eBay’s platform.

Facebook: Business firms states their URLs on cable Tv  commercials, were friends and followers can join them on Facebook. This is sharp method way of internet PR, you’re a startup entrepreneur, you could start a group to help entrepreneurs connect and exchange ideas. Search to make sure one doesn’t exist already in your area. Your friends on your facebook will have first hand information of what is happening around you and your business and will also pass to from friends to friends if even they are not yours. eBay is linked to facebook which acts as an indirect form of PR, Instant message could also take form by chatting on both platform.

Email: This is the fastest, stress less and cheapest form of PR and e-marketing with the use of the internet, when searching for information or to joint an organization like eBay, Amazon you go through a process of filling and providing certain information about yourself and your preference requirement, all these information is kept in their database and at the end you provide your e-mail. The organizations use their database information to communicate with you, through this medium you are updated with the latest information relating to previous request. As you change your preference change it is also updated in their database. eBay use this form of PR to promote their product to you and information is sent to you in respect of delivery of the item you paid for.

Website Feedback: Various website use a page known as website feedback as a form PR tool to give a comments, complain or report on your experience you may have after buying a product or trial of certain items in other for them to know how their customer feel about product bought from them.

5. EBAY SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGHT:The Company use the advantage of Customer Relationship Management (CRM). Both parties (Buyers and Sellers) subscribe with the company and information is collected by eBay on individuals. This is known as Business2Consumer (B2C) of their business. However the strong customer relationships are founded on a Consumer2Consumer (C2C) business platform, where strong business relationships occurs, for example where buyers and sellers leave feedback for each other for the next transaction to take place.

WEAKNESSES: Organizations works painfully to overcome fraud. However the eBay model does leave itself open to a number of fraudulent activities. But the company act with the issue very quickly. These includes inferior goods being marketed to unknown and suspecting eBayers. Other forms of theft could include the redistribution of stolen goods. Make it known that fraud and theft are problems with outsiders not eBay. The weakness is that mischievous individuals can exploit the C2C business platform. Many companies, systems breakdowns could disturb the trading transaction of eBay on daily bases. eBay and Paypal have suffered shutdowns and total breakdown. As technology improves for the better weakness will be less an issue.

OPPORTUNITIES: Acquisitions bring new business strategy openings. eBay has into agreement to buy off online telephone company Skype Technologies with a deal reported of about worth $2.6 billion. PC users use Skype talk to each other for free and make cut-price calls to mobiles and landlines once you have subscribe to the services. This will bring in more customers to the business and also make profit to continue to grow.

THRATS:The world Internet brands, success attract competition. Overseas competitors competing in their home markets have the technical experience that could give them a stronger advantage over eBay. It came to the notice of eBay that it has met with other USA home Internet companies when trading overseas. For example, Yahoo! Stand out in the Asian market.

Doing the same market is a threat. As with weaknesses above, the name is attacked by mischievous individuals. When e-mail sent to unknown eBayers disguards to come from eBay. Logos, and design of the pages looks just the same. However they are designed so that you input private information that the thieves can use to take passwords and identifications.

Not all costs can controlled by eBay, example shipping charges and credit card charges. With fuel prices to rise, the customer suffers the increment of delivery and postal charges. This affect the total cost of auctioned items very expensive. When provider of credit card merchants like Visa or Mastercard decide a charge for online business transaction the total cost of the same items would increase with a negative effects on the final customer of the product and will make eBay loose some of its future consumer and will affect the profit and share value of the company.

6. CONCLUSION

EBay is well aware that in order for the company to maintain its competitive advantage and make it sustainable in the long run, the company must take advantage of the changes at the corporate, organizational and business levels. EBay embraces the five building blocks which are applied randomly throughout eBay’s history: improvisation, co-adaption, regeneration, experimentation and time pacing as evident by the strategies discussed. The company also embraces the 10 principles of competing on the edge about strategy, organization and leadership.

With all hands on deck EBay can go further if the managing, marketing department embrace more with it’s IT department by merging with more social media platform not just their website because social website break more distance with communities of friends of my friends.

Security department should work more bringing down the risk of internet fraud, this is one area of online business transaction that turn people away from buying online, because nobody wants to their money to end up on the place after paying for an item or product.