I actually considered the possibility that eBay may be trying to build a second ebay - ie Gumtree. (for example)
They have got their first "businerss" up and going and seem to have a Business Model they are satisfied with, so why not duplicate it and expand?
It's what many do in Bricks and Mortar, Even Coles and Myer etc started out with just one store.
Maybe they do want to build a separate site for smaller sellers or for second hand or specialty items?
Not sure, but that doesn't make sense to me in the online world - they could just have the different sections in one big cyberdoobie platform/
But on the otherhAND, MAYBE THE SECOND HAND OR LOWER PRICED ITEM AREN'T COST EFFECTIVE FOR EbAY (oops sorry about that) Maybe the fact they cost just as much time and effort (and maybe even more) to generate the same income, so eBay have decided to cut the bleeding to increase revenue.
a) Aus Post recently said they couldn't update the eBay postsystem and Click and send at the same time due to infrastructure limitations, so maybe it's not all as easy as pushing a few buttonsd - and maybe the cuirrent infrastructure that ebay has, they want to utilize more efficiently without having to upgrade anything and spend more money?
b) It is my unresearched and unsupported opinion that infrequent sellers cost eBay more to service, as it is they who probably require a greater level of support to work out the system and understand what they have to do to comply etc. Asking questions and making mistakes, costs eBay money. A regular seller tends to know the system and is generally up to date with the changes eyc, so once they have gone through the initial "training period" they are much more cost effective.So it does make sense to me, from a business perspective, to cater for the casual user, but to focus on and promote the regular one iykwim.
The above ios for sellers
as for buyers - eBay just has to absorb the costs associated with NOOBs and irregulars, as buyers really are what it is all about.
You can have the best sellers in the universe, but if they have no buyers, there is no point having them or providing the framework for them.
Now that eBay is an established brand, sellers wanting to clear out the shed or make a fe3w dollars will always come here.
Kind of like the same principle with the Party Plan Tupperware. Or the Amway selling thing. Both these are arguably the most well known brand frameworks of their types, so people keep using them and some people even manage to make a few dollars.
It's an illusion that Tupperare sells plastic bowls, what they really sell is membership. As every new member generates them about $2000 in sales minimum. (of course there are excpetions). Sometimes they stay and keep buying and selling more, but often, as soon as their kit is paid for and they have purchased all they want for personal use, they leave. but you would think after 50 odd years, that they must have run out of new dealers by now, or with all the alternatives available and increased competition that they would be struggling, but aopparently not. For some p[eople people still buy plastic bowls at much higher prices than in the stores (I see K Mart now stocks similar stuff)
In reality, eBay is doing nothing different to the likes of Tupperware or Amway etc... they keep charging more money, but people keep on coming and occasionally, some of them stay. From memory, for every 7 new dealers that Tupperware recruits, only one stays longer than 2 months. and there is a return rate where 3 of those 6 dealers either stay on as cistomers or return to sell more plastic bowls again in the future.
Some people can go their whole lives and never really live for a single minute.
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