E-bay as my favourite website - Essay Example

E-bay as my favourite website My favourite Internet website is e-bay, an online marketplace where objects of all types can be sold. The specific website operates similar to an auction with the difference that all phases of the transaction are developed online (E-bay, corporate website, info). The company that developed the website is E-bay Inc, based in San Jose of California (USA). E-bay was created in 1995, with a different name, AuctionWeb, the website’s name was changed to E-bay in 1997 (E-bay, corporate website, history); in just one year since its creation, in 1996, the registered users of the website reached the 41,000 (E-bay, corporate website, history).

Through the years, the development of the website has been continuous; in 1997, about 200,000 were made on a monthly basis (E-bay, corporate website, history). In 1997, the number of its registered users was estimated to 341,000 (E-bay, corporate website, history). Today, the website has about 94 million active users worldwide. The financial performance of the website has been really impressive; for 2010 the value of the goods sold through E-bay reached the $62 billion; it is clear that the specific website is quite popular despite the strong turbulences in markets worldwide – under the pressure of the recent financial crisis.

I tend to visit the website quite often, at least once each week. I like it so much because it combines the commerce with entertainment; in fact, selling or buying in E-bay can be a unique experience, exchanging info with others visitors of the website but also adding your personal views on items for sale. Also, the website offers the chance to the visitors to evaluate the quality of an auction; in this way, ethics in the transaction are strongly promoted. This means that visitors are given the chance to participate in the development of the website, highlighting any potential issues that should be addressed – in order for the website to be further improved.

At the same time, an online community of users is established. The E-bay connect, as part of the website, helps the users of E-bay to communicate and participate in online forums and chat rooms (E-bay, corporate website, Who we are). The website’s blogs (for example, the Green Team talks or the E-bay Main Street) further support the communication needs of the website’s users. Another significant advantage of the website is the variety of its features required for the online auction of goods; PayPal has been added as a payment method for the transactions developed through E-bay.

Another such feature is the BillMeLater program, which offers the chance to develop various arrangements of payment of goods purchased through E-bay (E-bay, corporate website, Who we are). In this way, the users of E-bay can be highly supported in case they want to buy a good without being able to pay for it immediately – i.e. when the relevant transaction is over. Since the appearance of E-bay other websites with similar features have appeared; most common websites of such type are the following ones: WebStore, eBid, OnlineAction, and Oztion; the above websites are quite popular, but not at the level of eBay.

In fact, eBay is unique and cannot be threatened by its competitors because of the following reasons: its performance in terms of selling goods. EBay is the only website where the success in selling goods is 100% - i.e. the potentials for developing a successful transaction are significant – WebStore, which is also effective in online transactions has not reached the quality of services and the availability of schemes/ mechanisms of online sales of eBay. Moreover, the brand name of eBay is known website – guaranteeing that consumers worldwide will be informed on the objects for sale.

Therefore, if being compared to its competitors, eBay can rank first, not just for the variety and the quality of its services but also for its potential use as an online community in the context of which views can be shared and friendships could be possibly developed. Works Cited E-bay. Corporate Website. 2011. 14 June 2011. Top Ten Reviews. 2011. Online Auction Sites Review. 14 June 2011.