New for the holidays: eBay’s first catalog
Just in time for the start of the holiday shopping season, eBay launched its first catalog, Holiday 2004, on Nov. 15. With 116 products listed in 32 pages, the catalog was sent to millions of registered eBay users.
Now, instead of relying on shoppers to initiate shopping by logging on and searching its site, eBay is presenting them with a full-color catalog, co-produced with Sausalito, CA-based Haggin Marketing, showcasing products that category managers have determined to be the hottest gift items—ranging from digital cameras to fashion apparel to Toyota Prius hybrid gas-electric cars. “These are the products we’ve projected to be in the highest demand this holiday season,” a spokesman says, adding that it was too soon to report any impact on sales.
But there’s a catch: The products listed in the catalog aren’t necessarily available. “EBay doesn’t actually sell anything, so we can’t guarantee that catalog products will be on our site,” the spokesman says. “But we’re not worried about disgruntled customers, because with the breadth of items on eBay, we believe shoppers will find what they’re looking for.”
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