Month: March 2016

Will eBay’s growth finally pick up?

Kasia RothLeave a comment

It has become fashionable to complain about the lack of growth of “the world’s marketplace” and various media eagerly reported flat top line, unsuccessful competition with Amazon, disappointing results during holiday season and what not.

Indeed, eBay themselves seemed disappointed with their Q4results and made very modest predictions for Q1 and 2016.

Our data so far, however, seems to indicate that the marketplace’s results can be better in Q1 than they were in Q4 and, indeed, better than expected.

YoY growth in eBay sales of e-merchants using WebInterpret was 11 percentage points higher in Q1 than it was in Q4. Moreover, WebInterpret using sellers actually earned more in Q1 on eBay than they did in Q4!

Some reasons why this might be happening :

  • Our sellers always see slower growth on eBay during Christmas than they do on Amazon. With its long delivery times eBay simply isn’t the right place to purchase Christmas gifts anymore
  • Q1 is a high season for car parts – with its sophisticated car parts search engine and huge selection eBay works better for buyers looking just for the right part that would allow them to fix their car
  • Q1 is also a high season for fashion in some countries – in Germany and Italy buyers search eBay for fancy dress so that they can enjoy the carnival season. With its wide selection of fancy dress and rather smooth fashion-shopping experience (as a buyer I find it easier to shop for fashion on eBay than on Amazon) eBay is the perfect marketplace for these shoppers.

Knowing this, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that, at least in Europe eBay sellers seem to be more successful in Q1 than they were in Q4. Is it also your experience? Did you see your sales grow compared to Q4? Did you see them grow compared to last year?

What works better for a buyer? eBay or amazon? Egg coddler hunt

Kasia RothLeave a comment

Being a mom, I buy more or less every other product I need for my baby, my house and myself on amazon. Once you have a Prime account you hardly ever think about buying elsewhere. At work however, I have been brought to deal with eBay and eBay sellers. That’s why, while hunting for the perfect egg coddler I decided to give eBay a try.

1. Selection
Amazon give you an impression of storing more or less anything you would ever be willing to purchase, from corn flakes to electric guitars. However, when it comes to egg coddlers, the selection is surprisingly poor. I had a choice between three or four coddlers, which got even smaller once I activated the “available for Prime” filter. The coddler I finally chose was neither good value for money nor visually appealing.
Compare this with eBay with its awe inspiring selection of beautifully decorated porcelain coddlers! I didn’t have much time to look at all of them but still was very happy with the coddlers I chose.
Point for eBay!
2. Making a purchase
Whereas it’s easy to find a beautiful coddler on eBay it is not at all so easy to buy it! The purchasing process took at least three times longer than on amazon, with its (un)famously patented one click and required logging in to eBay and to PayPal.
Point for amazon!
3. Delivery
Quite a surprise here.  Whereas I expected my Amazon purchase to arrive faster than the eBay one, I was amazed to see it being delivered before the product purchased on eBay was even dispatched!
Point for amazon!
4. Product
The Amazon-purchased coddler was quite a disappointment. The lid broke after the first usage. My vintage china coddlers bought on eBay are beautiful to look at and still serve me well.
Point for eBay!
It seems that amazon is by far the most convenient place to buy anything online. However, when searching for some specific products I will keep in mind to check eBay (or Etsy?) for their wider selection. As of today I am a happy owner of three egg coddlers, enjoying my coddled eggs every Sunday morning while doing my Sunday morning online shopping.