Build an Ebay Killer - Gang Members Welcome to Apply

I'm a big fan of the online auction sites, not just eBay, but all auction sites. So if I challenged you to build an eBay killer could you do it? I'm not talking about the ability to code but whether you have the innovative idea that will turn peoples eyes away from eBay and on to your site?

Examine the dynamics of an eBay type site. The paying customers are sellers but the drivers of the site are buyers. Not enough buyers will mean sellers achieve little and move on. The auction site itself is simply the 'agent' in the middle that has to connect ready, willing and able buyers with a seller.

As a moderator on Pheebay discussion forums I have heard many arguments about who the eBay customer really is? It is true that the sellers pay fees for the service they receive but does this alone make them the customer? One of the biggest challenges for any eBay type site is to attract buyers. Without them the sellers wont value the service enough to pay any fees. So we are left with the situation that causes these regular arguments. The site charges the sellers the fees but rarely does much to please them on a day to day basis and it can seem to sellers that much more effort is ploughed in to the site appeal for buyers. But if sellers stop to think a moment, they should realise this is how it has to be.

When you employ an agent to sell your property do you want them to be talking to you all the time and pampering your ego or would you rather only catch the odd glimpse of them as they keep bringing potential buyers to your property? It is usually the seller that will pay the agent their fee and the buyers that get treated like royalty.

So it is hardly surprising that fall outs occur on some sites when the sellers are feeling 'unloved'. For newer or less well known sites, the sell thru percentage is often a fraction of that on eBay and, as a result, sellers become frustrated and often vent their anger on site forums. Perhaps these sellers have more time on their hands to analyse the features of a site, dream up promotions the site management 'should be doing' and complain in vague ways that 'not enough' is being done causing their sales to be so slow. This is all perfectly natural in an underperforming sales market and I suggest any site that trys to challenge eBay will hit this crucial issue.

So lets sum up the problem this way. All but a few sellers, despite often complaining bitterly about the regular fee increases, stay with eBay because, putting it frankly, they have to if they want sales. There's no other choice because eBay is where the buyers are! Aren't they?

Certainly that is how most people in North America see it right now. If you think about online auctions the eBay logo is at the front of your mind instantly. But what if you were elsewhere in the world?

It is just a few months since eBay all but gave up their challenge in the worlds leading emerging market that is China. Local competition forced them to reconsider their tactics and, in what I believe was a quickly arranged face saving arrangement, partnered up with a local business. In the emerging countries of eastern europe what site would you think of first if you wanted to sell something online? There's a very good chance you would choose QXL rather than eBay. So is it a language barrier that defines eBays popularity? Again I don't think so. In english speaking New Zealand the local population are likely to choose a site called Trademe for their online sales. In Australia eBay has increasing competiton from sites like Oztion. There are a few other major markets for eBay outside of North America. The UK is very much eBay dominated along with some other Western European countries. Sites such as Ebid and Tazbar have made, and continue to make, huge efforts to take a slice of eBays pie but, so far, with little success.

But I do believe the eBay killer is there to be found. It is not a language problem, it is a cultural problem. I believe consumers in North America and counties like the UK expect to be dominated by a brand. They expect to be profited from and, while many say they dislike the size and strength of a dominant force such as eBay, they will still use that brand despite the high fees compared to competitors. It is only competitors that have established themselves in much narrower product lines that have ever come close to challenging eBay in the UK or US.

Think Amazon and most people immediately imagine books and maybe DVDs or music. Amazon actually sell a much wider range of products than this but, for many, the image prevails. Think Yahoo! and you probably think web searches and advertising. But Yahoo auctions are still going in the US. Think Google and again you think searches and Adword adverts but Google Base is a vast marketplace you can browse. In the UK and US I believe, we have been conditioned to accept brand domination. We pay dearly for the label by choice when many generic products are equal in quality and much more affordable. We want that label, we want that brand and eBay is still the brand for online auctions.

So, if I'm right, to beat eBay a competitor has to do something new. Not just new by name or a new clever widget. But something new that instantly gives people bragging value by being a part of the site. It should be the cool site to trade on, the site that everyone knows it is smart to be a part of, the site where you want to be seen. I suggest that we're so indoctrinated by the culture of celebrity, brand and image that we wont go anywhere in meaningful numbers that doesn't attract a crowd first. We're conditioned to follow rather than lead and the Internet, just like the high street, is becoming fashion led.

I acknowledge a significant number of people aren't conditioned this way. But when anyone has to rely on a site to deliver a crowd of shoppers their own individuality or independent qualities will not pay the bills each month.

So I pose the question again. Can you build an eBay killer? What is it that will capture the imagination of the crowd? What is the concept that will make your site cooler to be buying or selling on than eBay? Why would people feel good in telling their friends and family why they use your site? It isn't cheaper fees they want to boast about. It isn't a catchy name they want, they need someone to give them a real good reason to risk joining a different gang.

Using the word 'gang' may induce a negative cultural image for many, but I believe the majority of us think this way because we crave the association and status of belonging to something we consider admirable. People want to be a voice that is heard in their communities whether that is in the work environment, at home, in a bar or online. They want to be close to the centre of attention where they feel like an insider rather than outsider. They want people to hear their opinons and they want to see their vote genuinely count.

I believe this is the weakest point in eBays armour. Their very success means users are becoming ever more remote from the site and feel less connected. The once prized community spirit has faded and I suspect there is a massive latent desire to find an alternative. However, to date, nobody has found the key to unlock this golden opportunity.

So, an eBay killer. Is it coming soon?

The author is a moderator at Pheebay discussion forums.