Is eBay a Monopoly?

[sfu_engineer]

Just wondering what everyone's opinions are regarding eBay and if people consider it a monopoly. I personally think it is a monopoly just because there are so many users already using the online auctioning site that it is hard to find items on other auctioning sites. It's so hard for sellers because they don't find it worthwhile to start selling anywhere else. And its hard for buyers cause there isn't enough people selling the items they want. It's a nasty cycle .

Here is a quick comparision of the some auctioning sites when I searched for "treo 650":

Ebay: www.ebay.ca
377 items found in the cellphone catergory (ie. 377 cellphones (not accessories being sold).

Ebid (Canada): http://www.ebid.net/
2 results found; none of them were the actual phones (ie. case and memory card)

Yahoo Auctions: http://auctions.yahoo.com
18 results found for actual phones. 3 of which were obvious scams.

Amazon Auctions: http://s1.amazon.com/exec/varzea/sub...135362-9651073
2 results found.

Ubid: http://www.ubid.com
14 results found. 2 of them were phones while the rest were accessories.

What does everyone think and what major competitors are out there for online auctions? I know Google is coming out with one but I haven't heard anything about it recently.

[MrWizard]

I wouldn't consider it a monopoly.

The basic premise is that it is a place to buy/sell used stuff correct? There are TONS of places on the web that do that.

[sfu_engineer]

I wouldn't consider it a monopoly.

The basic premise is that it is a place to buy/sell used stuff correct? There are TONS of places on the web that do that.

How about ... in an online auction based style? For example I wouldn't consider the Buy/Sell/Trade forum here to be the same as eBay.

[Immortal]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_monopoly

I would say online auction is one example of a natural monopoly. Other examples could include 'Social Networking sites', 'Instant messengers' and so on.

Just guessing there.

[perplexed_one]

ebay predates most online marketplaces so they got the word out and flushed out everyone else out. that essentially allows eBay and Paypal, currently its subsidiary to abuse its power and expropriate sellers/buyers' accounts, money, reps, etc.

EDIT: but ebay does not sell everything (booze, tobacco, firearms, bootleg), so that market is wide open

[j3fan]

ebay predates most online marketplaces so they got the word out and flushed out everyone else out. that essentially allows eBay and Paypal, currently its subsidiary to abuse its power and expropriate sellers/buyers' accounts, money, reps, etc.

This is not true in all countries...for instance in Japan, yahoo is the online auction leader...eBay is trying to play catch up to Yahoo in Japan....

[abu_sme]

I think there could an anti-trust suit against Ebay for banning other payment processors like gpay etc.

[etrywesd]

No, you can't sue them for that. They are banning other payment processers because they have a higher risk of fraud, and eBay is responsible for making sure that their buyers have safe transactions.

[sfu_engineer]

No, you can't sue them for that. They are banning other payment processers because they have a higher risk of fraud, and eBay is responsible for making sure that their buyers have safe transactions.

Then why do they allow Money Orders like Western Union? I would think Google Checkout which checks credit cards and credit card ratings would be a safer bet than a Money Order from Lagos, Nigeria.

[bluemount]

ebay is the top auction site because people chose to use it more than any other.
It has "critical mass"

I personally hate ebay + paypal - ripped off on fees.

Maybe RFD should set up an auction site

[CHINAdeals]

ebay predates most online marketplaces so they got the word out and flushed out everyone else out. that essentially allows eBay and Paypal, currently its subsidiary to abuse its power and expropriate sellers/buyers' accounts, money, reps, etc.

EDIT: but ebay does not sell everything (booze, tobacco, firearms, bootleg), so that market is wide open

and i doubt anyone would

there's too many laws / red tape associated with that..selling to minors etc.illegal goods.

i think its the most dominant force by FAR in a market that only really needs 1/2 companies like ebay at most.

it just makes sense to have 1 or 2..too many gives less choice for customers etc.

but yah.i think somebody should take ebay down..and their stupid paypal..way too many fees. :X