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Technology Stocks : eBay - Superb Internet Business Model -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Randy Ellingson who wrote (2436)	3/31/1999 3:19:00 PM
From: Doug Fowler	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 7772

Randy: I think there is a chance that Amazon will gain some marketshare against eBay, but I think it will be relatively small. I also think there is a very good chance that Amazon's entry into online auctions will actually HELP eBay. Here's why: Amazon is introducing auctions to its large user base. One has to believe that a large percentage of these people have not yet tried the online auction process. After they have gotten a taste, they are going to want more, but Amazon's offerings are miniscule compared to those of eBay. So, where will they go to get more? eBay. My educated guess is that Amazon auctions are producing great traffic right now, and if they are producing great traffic, the people aren't bidding much. I paid $100 to run a featured auction on Amazon 24 hours ago. I used the EXACT same ad I use on eBay, where I also pay $100 to run a featured auction. I typically get at least 5 dutch bids during the first 24 hours of running this exact auction on eBay. On Amazon, I have received 0 bids so far, and wouldn't be surprised if I see 0 bids for the entire auction (where I typically get between 12 and 15 on eBay). So, do you think I am going to pay Amazon ANOTHER $100 to run this auction next week? NO. Will I pay eBay? YES. Because eBay works for me (and hundreds of thousands of other sellers). Will Amazon come around? Maybe. But sellers like myself will not have a lot of patience with it. I will probably try it again in a couple of months, and if I get the same miserable results, I won't bother to try it again. That said, Amazon does have some features eBay would be smart to add. They include: 1. A $250 guarantee that the seller won't screw you. 2. Once logged in, Amazon doesn't make you enter that user name and password every time. eBay does, and it is a pain. 3. eBay could stand to pretty up its site. Amazon's looks better. --Doug