eBay Business Model | Business Model Navigator

Overview:

eBay Inc. is an American multinational e-commerce corporation based in San Jose, California that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995, and became a notable success story of the dot-com bubble. eBay is a multibillion-dollar business with operations in about 30 countries, as of 2011. The company manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a wide variety of goods and services worldwide. The website is free to use for buyers, but sellers are charged fees for listing items after a limited number of free listings, and again when those items are sold.

Industries:

Information Technology

E-Commerce

Similar firms (based on pattern co-occurrence):

2 shared patterns

3 shared patterns

2 shared patterns

Business Model Patterns:

Auction

How they do it: eBay pioneered the online auction paradigm. Sellers could list their products for a very low starting bid, which sparked attention from potential buyers. In 2006, Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich was the lucky buyer for a Yacht for around $170 million, put up for auction on eBay and resulting in one of the most expensive auctions of the platform.

E-commerce

How they do it: In 2018, 23 after its founding, eBay still ranks as one of the top 5 e-commerce websites worldwide. Sellers are able to list their products for a small fee or even for free, while buyers can discover product listings, and bid on or purchase products. eBay facilitates discovery and payments via its platform.

Peer-to-peer

How they do it: eBay is a pioneer of the P2P-marketplace. Among peers, sellers can list their products for a small fee or for free, while buyers can discover product listings, and bid on or purchase products. eBay facilitates discovery and payments via its platform.

Two-sided Market

How they do it: eBay is a two sided market. Sellers are able to list their products for a small fee or even for free, while buyers can discover product listings, and bid on or purchase products. eBay facilitates discovery and payments via its platform.

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