eBay 2000 Annual Report Download - page 9

user to provide comments and feedback on other eBay users with whom they interact and oÅers user proÑles
that provide feedback ratings and incorporate user experiences. In addition, eBay's expanded SafeHarborTM
program provides guidelines for trading, helps provide information to resolve user disputes, responds to reports
of misuse of the eBay service and, if necessary, warns or suspends users who violate the terms of its user
agreement. eBay's ongoing trust and safety initiatives, including user veriÑcation, credit card requirements for
sellers, insurance, integrated escrow, authentication and methods to help keep previously suspended users
from re-registering on eBay, are all intended to bolster eBay's reputation as a safe place to trade. eBay has also
developed an extensive set of rules and guidelines designed to educate users and help implement its policy of
prohibiting the sale of illegal or pirated items.
Cost-EÅective, Convenient Trading. eBay allows its buyers and sellers to bypass traditionally expensive,
regionally fragmented intermediaries and transact business on a 24 hour, seven days a week basis. Because
sellers bypass costly intermediaries, they frequently have lower selling costs and an increased likelihood of
Ñnding buyers willing to pay the target price. Listing an item on eBay requires sellers to generally pay a
nominal placement fee ranging from $0.30 to $3.30 and an additional success fee from 1.25% to 5% of the
transaction value if the sale is successfully concluded. Certain categories, namely autos and real estate, have a
diÅerent fee policy that consists of a $25 and $50 listing fee, respectively, and a $25 success fee for autos and
no success fee for real estate. Listing an item on Half.com is free; successful sellers are charged a commission
equal to 15% of the Ñnal sale price at the time a buyer pays the seller as well as a shipping fee. As a result of
these pricing policies, sellers can cost-eÅectively sell relatively inexpensive items that had previously been
prohibitively expensive to list through most traditional trading forums. By allowing sellers to conveniently and
easily reach a broad range of buyers, eBay also addresses the time-consuming, logistical inconvenience of
individual selling. Buyers have access to a broad selection of items and avoid the need to pay expensive
markups or commissions to intermediaries. The critical mass of items listed on eBay provides a mutual beneÑt
for buyers and sellers allowing both to eÅectively determine an appropriate price for an item.
Strong Community AÇnity. eBay believes that fostering direct interaction between buyers and sellers
with similar interests has enabled it to create a loyal, active community of users. eBay has introduced a variety
of features and services designed to strengthen this sense of community among eBay users. eBay facilitates
communications between buyers and sellers by oÅering chat rooms, bulletin boards, threaded discussion
boards, customer support assistance from its personnel or other eBay users and by providing ""About Me'' user
pages. These community features encourage consumer loyalty and repeat usage.
Intuitive User Experience. The eBay trading platform is a fully automated, topically arranged, intuitive
and easy-to-use online service that is available on a 24 hour, seven day a week basis. On the dynamic trading
platform, a seller can list items for sale within minutes of completing a simple online form and buyers can
submit bids for items quickly and easily. Buyers can easily search the millions of items listed by category or
speciÑc item. During the course of the transaction, bidders are notiÑed by email of the status of their bids on a
daily basis and are notiÑed immediately if they are outbid. Sellers and successful bidders are automatically
notiÑed when a transaction is completed. To assist users further, eBay oÅers email customer support staÅed on
a seven day a week basis. On the Half.com Ñxed price platform, sellers can easily list items by simply entering
the ISBN or UPC bar code number of their item, along with the item's condition and selling price. Half.com
automatically adds descriptions and pictures to each listing, so sellers do not need to do it themselves. Buying
at Half.com is similar to the shopping experience at other leading online retailers. Buyers can browse by
category or search by title or artist/author. When they want to buy, they simply put items in their cart, enter
their credit card number and check out. Customers can also see real-time price comparisons of new versions of
the same item through an on-screen shopping agent.
eBay Strategy
eBay's objective is to build upon its position as the world's leading community-commerce model and the
most compelling commerce platform on the Internet. Our vision is to help practically anyone buy or sell
practically anything in the world. The key elements of eBay's strategy are to:
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