eBay 1999 Annual Report Download - page 9

eBay Strategy
The Company’s objective is to build upon its position as the world’s leading online personal trading
platform. The key elements of eBay’s strategy are to:
Expand the eBay Community and Strengthen the eBay Brand. The Company believes that building greater
awareness of the eBay brand within and beyond the eBay community is critical to expanding its user base and to
maintaining the vitality of the eBay community. Although the Company’s early growth and much of its current
growth is attributable to word of mouth, the Company has introduced aggressive marketing efforts to build its
user base and its brand name. These include:
●advertising in targeted publications;
●strategic advertising and sponsorship placements on high traffic websites;
●radio advertising campaigns; and
●active participation in other forums such as selected trade shows.
These traditional and online media placements and word of mouth advertising give eBay frequent and high
visibility media exposure both nationally and locally.
Broaden the eBay Trading Platform. The Company has pursued a multi-pronged strategy for growing the
eBay platform within existing product categories, across new product categories and through geographic
expansion—both local and international. The Company targeted key product categories in its user programs and
marketing activities. The Company has expanded and developed existing product categories by introducing
category-specific bulletin boards and chat rooms, integrating category-specific content, advertising its service in
targeted publications and participating in targeted trade shows. In addition, the Company broadened the range of
products offered on its trading platform by seeking to attract new users from the general audience of Internet
users and adding product categories, content, features and other services to meet this new user demand. The
increasing number and importance of practical (as opposed to collectible) items on the site is illustrative of this
broadened range. The Company has also broadened the range of products that it offers to facilitate trading on the
site, including payment services, shipping services, authentication and escrow services. In addition, the Company
intends to offer its community additional pricing formats such as fixed price sales.
Key improvements implemented during 1999 include:
●the acquisition of Kruse International, one of the largest land-based auctioneers of collectible cars in
the world. This acquisition provided expertise in the automobile market and led to the launch of eBay’s
collectible and used car categories online;
●the acquisition of Butterfield & Butterfield (‘‘B&B’’), the fourth largest auctioneer of fine arts and
collectibles in the world. This acquisition permitted the launch of ‘‘eBay Great Collections,’’ designed
to showcase high quality items from auction houses and dealers around the world;
●the launch of eBay Regional sites. In 1999, eBay launched 53 regional sites that address the 50 largest
statistical metropolitan areas in the United States to encourage the sale of items that are too bulky or
expensive to ship, items of a local interest and items that people prefer to view before purchasing; and
●the launch of over 2,000 new categories that make it easier to find items in diverse categories.
Foster eBay Community Affinity. The Company continues to enhance what is already the largest and one
of the most loyal online trading communities on the Web. By instilling a vibrant eBay community experience,
the Company seeks to maintain a critical mass of frequent buyers and sellers with a vested interest in the eBay
community. The Company believes that new community tools, such as AboutMe personal pages and the recently
introduced threaded message boards will continue to contribute to the community dynamic. The Company’s
recent trust and safety initiatives, including user verification, requirements for new sellers to have a credit card
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