Ebay

The eBay site (www.ebay.com) is one of the most popular Web sites. EBay was one of the first auctions sites, and it has managed to evolve to remain the leading auction site. To accomplish this, eBay has both bought over other ebusinesses which threatened to attract a portion of its audience and continually added new features and entered into partnerships with other businesses. As a result, eBay has become a site which is like a vast flea market where users an find just about any type of product. EBay appears to have found the right formula for survival as an ebusiness. It came through the recent shakeout of the dot.coms with flying colors. Unlike most of the new dot.coms which started up over the past few years, eBay has been making a profit for years; and its profit continues to go up.

Intended Audience

• EBay aims to reach an audience of individuals interested in buying all kinds of used goods.
• EBay concentrates in used and second-hand goods. The innumerable and vaguely defined users of eBay's audience go to it in search of just about any kind of used goods.
• EBay attracts an audience not only of persons looking for used goods such as kitchen items, movies, and electronics goods that they want to use themselves and buy for a reduced price, but the site also attracts collectors of art, books, pottery, glass, and other valuable and collectible items.
• There is really no typical eBay audience member.

The site attracts individuals looking for items for practically a give-away bargain price to experienced connoisseurs and collectors looking for hard-to-find items. The only characteristic which applies to eBay's huge and diverse audience is an interest in buying something. The countless individuals of eBay's audience come to the site looking for something to buy. EBay bills itself as "the world's online marketplace"-as noted near the top of the home page; and this is true. EBay has become a marketplace for just about any conceivable type of item.