Are you serious? Craiglist and Amazon are beating Ebay down bigtime. It's gotten to the point where it's surprising how weak the Ebay buyer base has become. I cross list all the time and lately maybe one out of ten items ends up finding a buyer on Ebay. Paypal is probably the profit center for Ebay, and it is still very widely used. But there is Google checkout which is simply better and Amazon's checkount & payment system. Ebay is getting hit from all sides and it is their own fault for not retaining & growing market share.
This is incorrect. Neither one of those companies is anything close to an actual competitor of ebay....neither offers the same service (s). The fact is, there is NO direct competitor of ebay out there right now. That is why they can do what ever the hell they please and so many people keep using them. As a long time seller, I echo an earlier post that I hate this company. But the bottom line is there is no other mechanism out there where I can do what I do (sell guitars) to the same level of success. Thus, the model is working for them....although it is a complete monopoly (especially since they own paypal also) and should be illegal. Until someone with marketing power like Google or Amazon etc comes out with a model that can compete directly, Ebay will keep cruising along and raking in the cash.
If you do not realize that Craigslist is a direct competitor to ebay, then I must say you are really missing out. Ebay has a niche edge on certain markets, but anything with a common use, craigslist is simply better all around. Maybe not if you live in desolate areas it's not useful, but in any metropolitan area (where most people live) craigslist is easily preferable to Ebay. As for Amazon, I never considered them seriously until recently. Amazon is blowing up in the buyer & seller market. Amazon is Ebay's biggest threat right now as they are biting into Ebay's sales. I cross list any item that can be cross listed and I continue to be surprised how the "monopoly" giant Ebay gets less and less business each time. On top of it, the business that Ebay does get, most of it ends being done outside Ebay to avoid fees. If not for Paypal and Ebay Motors, I think the company would be close to all time lows.
Your Honor, They are still doing it, still arguing and digging into fundamental data and examining all sorts of things - anything BUT looking at the evidence - and the best evidence is provided by Price. Ebay crashing since 1999 doesn't faze these truebelievers one bit. Neither does this fact .... since the March 2009 lows the Dow, S&P, Nas and thousands of stocks have staged a nice rally, but not EBAY. Heck EBAY couldn't even get up to the 23.6% retracement level. But look how even in distress and under acute bombardment to the downside it staged a rally after the 2009 low to guess where? ... why of course to the 9.1 Fib level retracement. Lord have mercy, I truly am in the densest plateau of LalaLand. What a privelege and honor, Your Honor!!!!! Uploaded with ImageShack.us
I'd like to thank all of u for such great respose. I like to tell ZDREg to go fck himself for his candy ass reply. We know each other from the past. I havent been on often since retiring several years back. I made a significant amount of money with coach-coh- years back. Zdreg if u had listened to me then you'd be a happy man now and not attack people for no reason. U are an anal sphincter muscle my bud. Get straight mate. limbo
Deadbroke-I predict u will not be dead broke for much longer. Just don't hang out with dregs like Zdreg. Thanks for your replies. limbo
Be prepared to take some shit in life; just do not take more than a mouthful at a time. - Forrest Gump (as written by Winston Groom)
Coming from someone who uses ebay a ton, I can tell you that there is no comparison. They are not direct competitors....Craigslist is ok if you want to have a garage sale or sell your patio furniture....but if you are serious about using it to sell multiple items you are going to make much more with less hassle on ebay. Any body who thinks craigslist is superior to ebay is coming from a completely subjective personal perspective, not from a business perspective, or business model perspective. Craiglsist is local only with no buyer/seller security, no feedback, no business model.....I do not consider that a direct competitor to ebay....maybe a slight competitor, in a very small niche....I hate craiglsist, and I hate ebay...but I hate craigslist more People in large metro areas do not want strangers coming into there homes to look at items.....nor do I want to go into strangers homes to look at items...too many movies out there...too many copycat wackos out there....I prefer the security and safety of no buyer / seller contact.
...lots of sentences with "I" and little details for something that's not a subjective personal perspective