The success of eBay

Most of the people will have a mindset saying that “E-commerce, online shopping? Can it be successful in the real world?” Actually in the competitive world nowadays some potential and successful e-commerce websites still exist. One of it is eBay which is at http://www.ebay.com/.

Mr. Omidyar started eBay, which the first name eBay used was called Echo Bay Technology in 1995. When the company tried to register the domain name echobay.com, they found that it was already in use. They shortened the name to eBay.com and the website was born.

eBay began by Pierre Omidyar is 1995, (pure play) virtual organization, which they conduct their business activities solely online with no physical shop. This company began as something like an online garage sale in 1995 and has enjoyed steady growth over the years. Items on eBay are listed by categories and if you have an eBay account you can bid on the item on eBay. eBay include items like antiques, art, book, cars, coin or paper money, CDs, clothing, real estate, and many things else.








In the competitive world today, to build a successful e-commerce is not an easy thing. eBay provide us as a guide to become successful. The early emphasis on eBay was the customers. The very nature of online auctions required that strangers trust each other. First and foremost, eBay have done is to offer a quality product and be willing to stand behind it. Not only that eBay runs on feedback and it is far better to satisfy a customer than for negative feedback to be left. Positive feedback is one of the main things that attributed to the success on eBay. Next eBay focuses on providing excellent customer service. Give the customer MORE than expected. It is always more difficult to sell to a customer the first time. Therefore, once someone buys from eBay, their goal is KEEPING them as long term customer.

In order for the business to grow further, eBay started buying over some websites, which would help to boost up eBay’s. The Website Half.com was bought over by eBay in 2000 and fully integrated into eBay's web community in 2001. Half.com allows users to buy and sell items at lower rates much like eBay transactions but without the auction feature. The following year, eBay acquired Paypal Inc. which help eBay auctions to make payment. Paypal allows a person to send or receive money via an email address. Money in a Paypal account can be spent on the Internet, sent by check to the account owner, or deposited into a bank account. Paypal also offers credit cards, debit cards, and a bill paying function.


eBay is only for auction-style listings, which also auction for odd items that help eBay to earn a higher profit. The first item sold on eBay was a broken laser pointer, for $14.83. Omidyar was experimenting with how equal access to information and opportunities affects the efficiency of marketplaces. As a test he posted a listing for a broken laser pointer, which to his astonishment sold. Omidyar contacted the winning bidder to ensure he realized the item was broken. The buyer answered, "I'm a collector of broken laser pointers." At that moment, Omidyar knew he was on to something very big.

From day one, Omidyar built eBay around what remain the company's core values; a belief that people are basically good, everyone has something to contribute, an open environment brings out the best in people. The success of eBay underscores the truth of these values, and is at the heart of eBay's continuing success.

The history and evolution of E-commerce

As what i still remember when i was in primary school that personnel computer already existed at that time but not many people own a pc unlike now where every house have atleast one computer at home. Thus, only now i know what is e-commerce about after studying about it in college and university. Belows are the information about e-commerce that i found through the internet and search engine.

(History)

E-commerce began before personal computers were prevalent and has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry. History of ecommerce is unthinkable without Amazon and Ebay which were among the first Internet companies to allow electronic transactions and are two of the biggest names in e-commerce are launched: Amazon.com and eBay.com in 1995.

History of ecommerce dates back to the invention of the very old notion of “sell and buy”, electricity, cables, computers, modems, and the Internet. Ecommerce became possible in 1991 when the Internet was opened to commercial use. Since that date, thousands of businesses have taken up residence at web sites.

There have been several key steps in the history of e-commerce. At first, on the year 1984 the term ecommerce meant the process of execution of commercial transactions electronically with the help of the leading technologies such as Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) and Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) which gave an opportunity for users to exchange business information and do electronic transactions. This guaranteed that companies would be able to complete transactions with one another reliably. The ability to use these technologies appeared in the late 1970s and allowed business companies and organizations to send commercial documentation electronically.

In 1992 cmpuserve offers online retail products to its customers. This gives people the first chance to buy things off their computer. Netscape arrived in 1994 and providing users a simple browser to surf the Internet and a safe online transaction technology called Secure Sockets Layer. Although the Internet began to advance in popularity among the general public in 1994, it took approximately four years to develop the security protocols (for example, HTTP) and DSL which allowed rapid access and a persistent connection to the Internet.

For the year 1998 with the captured attention of the use of Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) which exist in year 1989. It was designed primarily for video and provides the high downstream rates needed for streaming video on personal computer users who need high-speed access to the Internet and corporate networks from residences and remote offices.This prompts people to spend more time, and money, online.

(Evolution)
Now it is usual to seen people spend alot of time on online whether for fund, work, or study. This increase the capability of the internet. The access for online shopping and e-banking become very commons nowadays. Business also can comply throught internet and has been concern for the retailers. This is because it save more cost such as tax and attract more customer without any additional cost and activities such as promotion.

Todays there are 5 largest and most famous worldwide Internet retailers. There are Amazon, Dell, Staples, Office Depot and Hewlett Packard. According to statistics, the most popular categories of products sold in the World Wide Web are music, books, computers, office supplies and other consumer electronics.

In 2000 a great number of business companies in the United States and Western Europe represented their services in the World Wide Web. At this time the meaning of the word ecommerce was changed. People began to define the term ecommerce as the process of purchasing of available goods and services over the Internet using secure connections and electronic payment services.

Although the dot-com collapse in 2000 led to unfortunate results and many of ecommerce companies disappeared, the “brick and mortar” retailers recognized the advantages of electronic commerce and began to add such capabilities to their web sites. By this consumers can easily search through a large database of products and services and able to see actual prices, build an order over several day. Customers can compare prices with a click of the mouse and buy the selected product at best prices. Beside this, the web and its search engines provide a way to be found by customers without expensive advertising campaign. Even small online shops can reach global markets.

According to all available data, ecommerce sales continued to grow in the next few years and, by the end of 2007, ecommerce sales accounted for 3.4 percent of total sales. In 2008, the domain Amazon.com attracted about 615 million customers every year. The most popular feature of the web site is the review system, i.e. the ability for visitors to submit their reviews and rate any product on a rating scale from one to five stars.

History of ecommerce is a history of a new, virtual world which is evolving according to the customer advantage. It is a world which we are all building together brick by brick, laying a secure foundation for the future generations.