“EBay is creating a second virtual economy” said Brian Arthur (Hof, 2003). The past couple weeks in my history class we’ve talked a lot about the economy and how much trade has played an important role in making an economy successful. One example was the Dutch East India Company, as trade was becoming extremely successful, some sort of order was in desperate need. That’s when a couple determined people stepped in like Peter Stuyvesant as governor and Alexander Hamilton who established the banking system. Stuyvesant did such things as developed streets and set up police forces (Hof, 2003). Meg Whitman, CEO of eBay, must have been caught up with her history because eBay’s tactics are very similar to those of the gentlemen just mentioned.
EBay started off as a simple place of trade but now has flourished into a booming economy. It now has its own government, police force, laws, banking system and even EBay University for those who want to learn how to take advantage of what eBay has to offer. Meg Whitman is basically playing Stuyvesant’s role here as “Governor of eBay”. Think about today in our economy, we have our Governor, police force, laws, banks and educational institutions. EBay’s just the virtual version of what our economy’s like. As we have cops patrolling the streets keeping us safe, that’s what eBay’s security team is doing constantly, looking out for fraudulent listings and keeping us safe online. One time I tried listing a monopoly piece from the McDonalds game not knowing that it was against the rules and within a day they had removed it. They also have a secure way of doing financial transactions over the internet via PayPal which is their banking system. I’m always extremely confident in using PayPal and I’ve never run into any issues. You can even get a PayPal debit card, which I have, that makes it very convenient for me to get my money.
The buyers and sellers in this situation I’d say are the “people” and eBay’s management is like the “government”. The people ultimately have the power over eBay such as a democracy. We have a say in what goes on throughout the eBay community, if enough people revolt or complain about something then eBay will most likely look into whatever pleases the “people”. This is so because if it weren’t for people buying a selling on eBay then there would be no eBay, were the ones that make them successful. I could be considered both a buyer and a seller. I also do a lot of buying and selling not only for myself but for my friends a family; they always call me “the eBay guy”. I really don’t mind helping them out because every transaction done under my account whether it’s for me or not builds up my feedback. Personally now though, I buy more than I sell just because the deals are so great.
The latest thing that I purchased was an adventure/sport video camera for $20, the same one sells in Brook Stone for around $100. Those are the deals that are worthy of investing in to me. Also turning to eBay for buying birthday presents is probably one of the greatest things I’ve ever done. Doing so makes it easier to personalize gifts for everyone and can even help you earn brownie points from those you’re buying for. My step-mom is infatuate d with Winnie the Pooh, Wizard of Oz, Madam Alexander and Lenox. Searching on eBay I was able to hook her up with a Lenox Winnie the Pooh Ornament and set of Wizard of Oz characters made by Madam
Alexander.My dad’s a huge antique collector and I found some antique cast iron banks that you just wouldn’t find hanging around on the shelf in a store, so he really loved those. I’d really recommend buying gifts on eBay for any occasion; just make sure to order them in time so they make it before the party. EBay has really changed my view on shopping and just the way we do business in general. It’s all done from the comforts of your own home so no long lines or sitting in traffic. Having four sisters, I believe I’ve done my fair share of crazy shopping trips so eBay has been like a little life saver to me.
Alexander.My dad’s a huge antique collector and I found some antique cast iron banks that you just wouldn’t find hanging around on the shelf in a store, so he really loved those. I’d really recommend buying gifts on eBay for any occasion; just make sure to order them in time so they make it before the party. EBay has really changed my view on shopping and just the way we do business in general. It’s all done from the comforts of your own home so no long lines or sitting in traffic. Having four sisters, I believe I’ve done my fair share of crazy shopping trips so eBay has been like a little life saver to me.Hof, R. (2003). The eBay economy. BusinessWeek, (3846), 124-128. Retrieved October 28, 2010 from, the Academic Search Complete database.
Parisi, M. (2000). Wizard of Oz cartoon # 2000-01-12 [Cartoon]. Retrieved November 3, 2010, from
No comments:
Post a Comment