eBay: Online auctions at their finest

With the Internet revolution now beyond its infancy, only a handful of successful Web sites from its early years remain to this day. \nEBay Inc., located at www.ebay.com, has survived the revolution and gained a foothold in the e-commerce business through its daily auctions that bring people together from all over the world to determine the value of various products. \n"The idea of getting excellent 'deals' appeals to most people," said Dick Canada, IU professor of marketing and director of the Center for Global Sales Leadership. "People like to brag about their deals, boast about their negotiations, and eBay offers this attraction. People who buy on eBay will often consider selling on eBay, so eBay has changed the way we buy and sell from a sociological and psychological perspective." \nEBay was founded in 1995 by Pierre Omidyar in San Jose, Calif. \nOmidyar, along with the help of other key management officials, has turned the Web site into an e-commerce global empire. According to www.nasdaq.com, eBay's confirmed and registered users grew from only 2 million in 1998 to 62 million in 2002.\nWhether a consumer wants to bid on an autographed Andre Agassi tennis racquet or an antique automobile from the 1950s, eBay will certainly have exactly what he or she is searching for. EBay has become an obsession for some IU students and professors who have chosen it as a one-stop-shop for all their personal needs.\nJonlee Andrews, clinical associate professor of marketing and director of the Center for Brand Leadership, bought two cars on eBay -- each of which was a very specific model. \n"People can find anything they want -- even very obscure items," Andrews said. "Many people are obsessed with collecting. They begin with something that may be sentimental and then build from there." \nEBay users have the option to purchase items in an auction-style format or at fixed prices through a feature called "Buy-It-Now." Essentially, a prospective bidder must first visit the registration page. After completing three steps, registration is complete, and the new user may have a chance to purchase the millions of products that eBay houses on its Web site. \nOnce users find a product on which they would like to bid, they fill out the bidding form and wait for a response. Over the course of the bidding period, which typically lasts anywhere from three to five days, the user may increase his or her bid to surpass other bidders.\nSome users like the thrill of competing for a valued product, while others enjoy buying hard-to-find items. \n"Part of it is the risk that's involved," Andrews said. "Will you win the bid? This feeling of risk can make it fun and, similar to gambling, may be addictive to some."\nWhile some may be concerned with the security and trustworthiness of the Web site, eBay users have the advantage of rating each auctioneer so as to either warn or promote a specific auctioneer to future bidders. Each member has a profile that reveals the member's feedback score accompanied by either positive, neutral or negative ratings in the past several months.\nJunior Annie Russell uses eBay to find items she may not be able to get anywhere else. \n"It's really a great way to find specific things you are interested in at an affordable and pretty reasonable price," she said. "Sometimes, if you have something random that you want but don't know exactly where to find it, there's a really good chance you'll find it on eBay."\nEBay has attempted to simplify the search process for Web site visitors by grouping products into easy-to-understand categories, such as Cameras and Photo, DVDs and Movies, and Health and Beauty. \nIn addition, eBay offers live help to those who have questions or concerns and allows each individual user to customize their eBay page and receive messages specifically tailored to the user through the "My eBay" icon. \nBuyers can often get better deals by purchasing the item they want on eBay as opposed to buying it from a large corporate retailer. \n"Last semester, I was interested in buying a digital camera, so I looked on eBay to see if there were any I liked. I found one, researched it more at different Web sites from Best Buy, Circuit City, Target, etc., and wound up buying (one) off eBay for $150 when the product retailed at $300," said Russell, who has bought more than half a dozen items on eBay since returning to school this fall.\nWhile competitor auction Web sites have emerged into the e-commerce marketplace, eBay has remained the leader in online auctions. \n-- Contact staff writer Michael Savitt at mpsavitt@indiana.edu.