Consumer activity is not the only area of surging growth for eBay.com. It’s now offering 250 categories of wholesale products within its Wholesale Lots section, up from just 25 a year ago, says Karl Wiley, senior category manager for wholesale. The categories, covering everything from jewelry to auto parts, now account for more than 55,000 listings, up from 11,000 a year ago, he says.
EBay’s Wholesale Lots section, which posted 465% year-to-year growth in second-quarter gross merchandise sales, is used primarily by small and mid-size retailers as buyers as well as by individual marketers who buy and sell on eBay, Wiley says. “There are no super-large retailers involved pushing that increase in sales,” he says.
Yet eBay is trying to attract more retailers to its wholesale offerings, however, and has begun placing ads in publications that cater to wholesalers. “Some smaller retailers don’t know they can buy wholesale on eBay,” Wiley says.
Wholesale Lots listings range in size from about 20 items each to 500 or more, Wiley says.
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