eBay’s latest expansion efforts take it into b2b territory
EBay Inc.’s eBay.com is trying something new yet again: It’s channeling b2b sales for companies like Motorola Corp., which is finding a whole new universe of buyers of all sizes. “Companies are taking end-of-lifecycle products and putting them on eBay to an expanded audience of dealers, resellers and mom-and-pop stores,” Jordan Glazier, general manager of eBay’s business and industrial section, tells InternetRetailer.com.
Through their traditional b2b relationships, manufacturers like Motorola typically ask their regular distributors and retailers to take some of the leftover prior versions of products along with the hotter-selling newest ones. But because this approach can make it difficult to move both old and new product versions by overloading retailers with inventory, manufacturers are beginning to seek out new buyers through eBay, says Glazier. He notes that Motorola has been testing b2b sales on eBay for several months, and that several other b2b pilot programs are under way by other manufacturers.
“The wholesale trade on eBay is about 20,000 to 25,000 listings available at any given time, but it’s growing quickly,” Glazier says. As an example of how quickly eBay can build a new market, he points to a new category for metalworking products. Though fairly new on eBay, metalworking tools already number more than 10,000 listings, ranging as high as $200,000 for a single listing.
Back...
