The Computer Revolution/E commerce/E-bay

EBay has been described as “The World's Online Marketplace”. Being able to shop online means that you as the consumer or seller would not have to be physically present to sell or buy a product. Although originally intended for consumer-to-consumer transactions (also known as the C2C business model), even small businesses use eBay along with their own e-commerce website. EBay has dramatically changed the way we in the marketplace exchange goods and services. The interaction between buyer and seller is all done online and eBay provides you with the tools and cyber market to do so. EBay can also be described as an online auction where bidding on an item can take place. .

Now, the question arises that how E-bay or other online auction generates revenue? The answer is E-bay or other online auction sites generate revenue basically from the seller himself, when the item are initially listed for sale and even when successful bidder purchases the item from the site. They basically charge some fee say 10 cents to $4, depending on the starting bid specified by the seller. On the other hand, they generate revenue when seller adds an extra feature to the bid, or specifying the minimum bid, adding more than one photo, or even having bold listing and even by promoting the item to the top. In addition to that, they generate revenue from seller in a way of charging a percentage of selling prices usually from 6%, depending on the final amount of selling price.

How to Buy and Sell on eBay
First the seller must register with eBay and set up an account. Next the seller must decide on what they would like to sell, take pictures of the item(s) and then write a full description of the product before posting the item(s) on the website. EBay actually has a sellers' checklist, suggestions and process for sellers to follow. As the seller you should also set your price for the item. Although the seller is a price setter, there may be certain rules or price ceilings that may be in place to prevent extortion of a product. As a seller you can sell almost anything, however, there is a prohibited items list posted on the eBay website that restricts the selling of a number of items such as illegal substances, government issued IDs, games and pirated software.

After the item has been posted on the eBay website the auction will begin and buyers from around the world can bid for the sale of the item. The product will be open for bid for a certain amount of time. In order to buy an item on eBay you must use PayPal for online credit card payment or a bank account depending on what the buyer wants.