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Angela Klein

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Angela Klein 20:14, 30 Jul 2004 (EST)</nowiki>

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Annotated Bibliography

How eBay has changed the way consumers and businesses buy, sell, and shop.

Alexander, A. 2003. �The greater baton rouge business report�. Baton Rouge, 21(26), p.20. (Retrieved August 8th 2004 from Proquest Database.) [2]

This article approaches the topic of eBay and its dramatic rise in popularity, through the revealing of other peoples stories that have had their lives changed through eBay. He talks about those who have benefited from the online auctioning site, receiving profits they normally wouldn’t receive due to previous limitations with traditional shopping. EBay offers individuals an opportunity they would otherwise not receive, to sell goods they no longer want, creating the perfect exchange for both buyer and seller around the world. Small businesses prosper through the use of eBay in ways they could not have predicted, as do larger businesses, all thanks to the one site, www.ebay.com. It’s narrative style makes it easy to read and more personalised, as the stories reinforce and prove eBay’s success and famed reputation.

Bunnel, D. 2000. “The ebay phenomenon – Business secrets behind the world’s hottest Internet Company�. Canada: John Wiley and Son’s inc. ISBN 0-471-38490-9

This book provides a detailed account on eBay’s history, including how it all began, who by and why it has become such a phenomenon. It focuses on how such an online auctioning business has changed the way people perceive the internet, and also how they now identify and use the internet as a way to shop, sell and buy products that would otherwise be limited to previous buying and shopping conventions. It is extremely user friendly for those who are not Internet savvy, as it describes everyday peoples accounts and contact with the Internet, and in particular eBay, along with steps on how to sell, buy and what security procedures ensure that ebay is a trusted and safe online auctioning site. It further outlines what possible outcomes eBay may encounter in the future, problems and benefits, and how a company with such small beginnings has revolutionized the Internet, and more importantly buying and selling as a whole.

Conhaim, W.W. 2004. “Where buyer meets seller�. Information Today, 21(5), 29-31. (Retrieved August 3, 2004, from Proquest database). [3]

This journal article is a useful resource in understanding the basic functioning and layout of eBay and how it all began. It utilizes simple headings to direct the reader to the fundamental information they require, whether it be about buying and selling, eBay’s set of rules, potential difficulties or what lays ahead for eBay. It aims to and succeeds in outlining the key points about eBay, starting of from its humble beginnings as an antique flea market, to becoming the world leader in online auctioning through successfully ‘harnessing the power of the web’. It talks about the cultures and items found in eBay, the smooth running of such a large e-business company, and how to become ‘eBay savvy’. It is central to the topic at hand as it proves further how eBay really has become the marketplace of today’s world.

Cox, B.G., and W. Koelzer. 2004. “Internet Marketing�. New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc. ISBN 0-13-033628-9

“Internet Marketing� gives a wonderful account into the world of Internet marketing, and makes mention of eBay frequently within chapters of the book. In chapter one it introduces eBay and the basic set-up of how it works and who commonly uses it, and gives guidance for businesses wishing to set up an online auctioning site to take note of how eBay has created such a successful, user friendly site. Chapter four also talks about auctions, and specifically eBay, demonstrating the appeal of this way of shopping in contrast to regular conventional shopping, and the volume of profits eBay generates with having approximately 5.77 million listings daily. It shows how eBay, starting of as a small e-business company, has set the standard for many other online auctioning sites to follow suit, making this industry fast moving due to its convenience and the advantages it has over other methods of buying and selling.

EBay Inc. 2004. �Retail Brief�. Wall Street Journal (Eastern Edition), p. A.10, 1. (Retrieved Aug 5th, 2004 from Proquest database.) [4]

This article focuses on the fraudulency involved with ebay and other online auctioning sites. It talks about a recent case whereby tiffany and co plans to sue eBay, as a number of jewellery pieces found on the website claiming to be real Tiffany jewellery were found to be inferior copies. This type of case is a prime example of how eBay has changed the way consumers shop, as it has allowed such counterfeit jewellery to be sold, despite rules and regulations put in place to stop such doings, demonstrating how faith in such a company can be won over as easily as it is lost. It further demonstrates how companies such as Tiffany and Co. lose trade, due to people preferring to bid for items on eBay rather than purchase the jewellery from Tiffany stores, taking sales away from regular conventional retail.

Goldsborough, R. 2000. "It’s going, going, gone…on the Internet�. Tech Directions, 60(4), 14. (Retrieved August 3, 2003 from Proquest Database). [5]

“It’s going, going, gone…on the Internet� is journal article by Goldsborough that describes the growing interest in online auctioning, paying particular attention to eBay. He talks about the explosion of Internet auctioning, as eBay moves a whopping 12 million of merchandise per day, making it the most popular online auctioning site, and according to PC magazine the ‘single best internet site’ out there. Further, issues such as fraud and inaccurate product descriptions are discussed through his own personal experience, as consumers and businesses turn more and more to eBay to sell and buy items, as typical barriers existing with previous shopping conventions are broken down.

Hof, R.D. (2003). “The eBay economy – The company is not just a wildly successful startup. It has invented a whole new world�. Business Week, (3846), p.124. (Retrieved Aug 7th, 2004 from Proquest Database). [6]

Hof discusses the growth of eBay as a ‘nexus of economic activity’ where not only auctioning takes place, but also the development of an entirely different way for the world to sell and buy, and become part of the growing online auctioning community, the ‘eBay economy’. He mentions the humble beginnings of eBay and how chief executive Margaret C. Whitman was mocked at for calling eBay a ‘dynamic self regulating economy’, basically what it has become today. He illustrates the massive growth of eBay and its ability to change business and shopping conventions for people all over the world. Hoff also gives a detailed list labelled ‘how the eBay economy works’, outlining basic facts about the company’s history, its plans, and how it works. Overall it provides a more technical insight into the ebay wonder, going more into depth of the logistics and people who have made it such a significant force.

Krantz, M. 2004. “Firms jump on the eBay wagon; Offshoots feed on auction site’s success by serving it’s customers�. USA Today, p. B.01. Retrieved from National Newspaper Abstracts (3) databse. (From Proquest, retrieved August 3, 2004). [7]

This journal article talks about eBay as not only an online auctioning site, but as a major worldwide marketplace, as businesses and individuals around the world are setting up affiliations with eBay, in order to ride on the online auctioning sites overwhelming success. Krantz explores the excitement surrounding eBay, and the masses of business using eBay to their advantage, such as in the case of the company iSold It, whereby the effort to post a product on the internet becomes their job, benefiting all who is involved with the auctioning process, including eBay. It demonstrates how eBay has revolutionized the way people buy and sell, taking everyday shopping and even online auctioning to a whole new level.

Lawson, C.L. 2002. “Product quality in electronic commerce. An old problem re-cast�. Mid-American Journal of Business, 17(1), 23-31. (Accessed August 3, 2003 from Proquest database.) [8]

In this journal article, Lawson talks about the problems associated with online shopping, with reference to a term known as the “lemons problem�. Through using eBay as her case study, she demonstrates how quality is now an issue when buying and selling online, as unable to physically hold, touch and see the object before being bought, issues regarding the quality and real value of the product are often compromised through such online shopping techniques. She notes how eBay, and online auctioning in general, have many known advantages over traditional shopping, along with disadvantages, as the lemons problem (whereby a product is not known to be fake or inferior by either seller or buyer) continues to become a growing concern. It is of particular importance because it shows how eBay has changed the way consumers buy and sell, consequently creating and addressing issues such as quality control, however not always being as accurate as regular methods of shopping.

Queensland University of Technology, School of International Business. 2004. "Introduction to E-business". New South Wales: McGraw Hill. ISBN 777777257-0

This book discusses all aspects of e-business, and throughout references and refers to the popularity and rise of eBay. In chapter 11 in particular, it provides a case study on eBay where it notes the success and rise of eBay as an Internet auctioning site, noted for its credibility and high volume sellers and buyers. It demonstrates how eBay at one stage, in 1999, lost some of that credibility and high profit figures due to technical difficulties, causing the site to be out for around twenty-two hours. It further explains how eBay overcame this problem, through building a stronger network and waiving fees for that period, thus recovering from such a crisis, making it one of the strongest and most popular online auctioning sites it is known as today. However, despite this, there was a significant loss in the expected traffic within the site, as confidence was lost in the business and online auctioning as a whole for some time, demonstrating the importance of such a case study in identifying what problems have occurred within the online auctioning department, and how it has been overcome.

Angela Klein 16:28, 12 Aug 2004 (EST)