Essay About Online Auction Web Site And Taobao Consumer Auction Site

Essay Preview: Ebay
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Ebay is an American Internet company that manages eBay.com, an online
auction and shopping website in which businesses buy and sell goods and services
worldwide. In addition to its original U.S. website, eBay has established localized
websites in several other countries. Ebay Inc. also owns Paypal, Skype, and other
businesses. The online auction web site was founded in San Jose, California on
Septemeber 3, 1995 by computer programmer Pierre Omidyar as AuctionWeb.
Omidyars own tongue-in-cheek tribute to the Ebola virus. Ebay has gone from
Americas online flea market to a global powerhouse in 32 countries. Ebay set its sites
on China, Japan and South Korea.
Ebay has conquered online auctioning, racking in over $770 million in profit last
year on a transaction volume of $34 billion. But Ebay wont stay on top unless it also
conquers what eventually will be the worlds largest market for online goods:China. Ebay
bought its way into China in 2002, holds half of a $1 billion market and will spend $100
million this year to bolster its presence there. China is a “must win” and is likely to be
the defining measure of business success on the Net. There are a ” bunch of small
competitors nipping at our heels.” says Ebay Chief Meg Whitman to Wall Street analysts
in early February. Jack Ma is one of which who is a strong competitor of eBay. Ma runs
the Taobao consumer auction site, the biggest homegrown rival to Ebay in China.
Though it didnt start up until a year after Ebay arrived, Taobao quickly has gobbled up
41% of online auction sales, compared with Ebays 53%; it has 4 million registered users,
gaining on Ebays claim of 10 million customers in the country. To take on the decidedly
american presence of Ebay, Taobao–Mandarin for “searching for treasure” plays up its
local staff and an all-China focus; its online moderators use screen names from characters
in famous Chinese kung fu novels. Ma also runs Alibaba, which claims to be the worlds
largest global business-to-business auction site. Six million members use the main site,
devoted to in-China trade, and a second site for trade with companies in the rest of the
world. Alibaba and Taobao, which are controlled by Mas Alibaba Holdings, aim to beat
out Ebay, setting themselves up for expansion beyond Chinas borders. If JackMa has his
way, Taobao–not Ebay–will end up conquering the online world.
In February 2000 eBay launched its Japanese site. The site offered over 800
merchandise categories, to include favorites such as Pokeman and pottery and “Hello
Kitty”. The site also included categories including computers, electronics and Asian
antiques. Yet! Ebay hasnt come close to the success that Yahoo Japan has acquired.
Yahoo Japan has 95% of the online-auction market. Last year alone over 1.5 billion
worth of goods were traded. Ebay Japan only has 3% of the Japanese market (Belson,
2001). There are several mistakes eBay made coming