Ebay
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eBay is the world's largest online marketplace with over 100 million users worldwide.[1] Registered users can sell items by auctioning or sell them for a set price, or buy items through auction or simple purchase. Items sold on eBay include clothes, cars, games, computers, antique coins, deals, sporting goods, and more. While the community provides a vibrant market for online users, there are ramifications as to the truth in the description of items sold, what items are sold, and privacy in PayPal, the payment company acquired by eBay in 2002 through which most eBay payments are processed.[2]
Contents
History
eBay was founded as AuctionWeb by programmer Pierre Omidyar in 1995 as a side project. Initially, it was an experiment to see how people would react if they had equal access to a single online market.[2] Upon launching the site, Pierre was able to sell a broken laserpoint pen for $14.83, propelling him to create a full-fledged market site that developed into eBay as we know it today. AuctionWeb officially became eBay in 1997.
Features
Selling
eBay offers two primary ways to sell items: through auction or listing an item at a fixed price through a feature called "Buy it Now."
Auction
Users can list items to auction. When listing an item, a seller must provide a picture of the item, a description, and a starting bid. Sellers are also required to
Buy it Now
In 2001, eBay began offering an alternative to auction-style bidding. With the addition of "Buy it Now," sellers can institute a flat rate price for an item. Sellers can also offer their items through auctions, but include a Buy it Now price for sellers that want to bypass the auction. The Buy it Now price is removed if the actual auction price exceeds it, the item then proceeds to be sold in a traditional auction price bidding war with no Buy It Now option anymore.
Bidding
Users can bid on items listed. eBay enforces a minimum additional bid on items, so the next bid for an item starting at $20.00 must be $20.50, for instance.
Categories
Items can be organized into various categories, including Fashion, Electronics, and Entertainment, among others.
Search
Users can search items by name, category, description, price, and date of listing. Users can also search completed auctions.
Ratings
since the site first launch, leaving feedback, as both a buyer or a seller has been an important aspect of eBay. eBay wanted to give buyers information regarding the reliability of items, delivery time, and overall conduct of sellers.
Buyers reviews allow sellers to see how timely payments are made. In 2008, eBay enhanced the seller-reviews feature by separating the review into four categories: shipping, item description, shipping and handling charges and seller communication. This gave buyers more details into a sellers history and reputation. eBay provides incentive for users to gain feedback by using a feedback points system.
Members receive +1 point for each positive rating, 0 points for each neutral rating, -1 point for each negative rating. eBay has implemented a star rating representing your total points ranging from a yellow star for a feedback score between 10-49 to a silver shooting star for a rating over 1,000,000.
Ethical Issues with eBay
False item description
Often times sellers on eBay will falsify or embellish item descriptions. Common examples include stating an item is brand new when it is in fact used, or selling counterfeit products as real. Furthermore pictures may not be representative of the actual item. In recent years, eBay has tried to crack down on false items descriptions by allowing users to report sellers and by auditing auctions randomly. eBay provides a Help Center for its users which includes information on how to look out for fake items and false item descriptions by sellers. [3]
Privacy
Although users on eBay can create their own usernames, their personal address, credit card and bank check information, as well as personal e-mail are relieved. When you purchase an item on eBay, you then must provide a shipping address and proceed with payment to the seller. This may violate privacy due to anonymity on the Internet you really do not know who is selling you the product and what they can do with your personal address, etc. even after the transaction is over.
Ethics of Items Sold
Although eBay has a restricted list of items[4], sellers may falsify item descriptions to evade having listings for banned items taken down.
Buyer's Power
It has been frequently cited that eBay gives too much power to the buyer and does not do enough to protect the seller from scams.[5] In some cases, buyers have purchased products, filed a claim that the products were not as described, received a full refund, and in the end, been able to keep a product which was actually as described.
Digital Items
In March of 2008, eBay changed their policies on selling digital goods so that they cannot be listed in auctions or direct sales, and instead must be listed in the classified ads section of the site.[6] The motivation for this change was to prevent abuse of eBay's feedback system by creating many item listings to make a seller look more legitimate.
Gaming the Rating System
As noted above, there have been many attempts to game eBay's rating system to make a seller look reputable in order for the seller to later scam unsuspecting users. One strategy is for a seller to buy some small inexpensive items in bulk and sell them on eBay to accrue many positive ratings. Later such a seller might try to scam a user out of a more expensive product.
