Americans losing interest in eBay
Posted
Jul 09 2008, 06:47 AM
by
Kim Peterson
EBay is making big changes to its business these days -- but apparently it's not going over well with customers. According to a recent MSN-Zogby poll, only 31% of Americans plan to buy or sell anything on the auction site in the next year. That's down from 40% who said they bought or sold something on eBay in the last year.
There are two ways to look at this data. On one hand, one out of three Americans who go online still plan to use eBay next year. That's an incredible penetration rate, one that other retailers would love to have.
On the other hand, the numbers show that people are losing interest in eBay. If people stick by their answers, eBay could see a significant drop in U.S. business this coming year.
MSN commissioned Zogby International to survey 6,500 people about eBay and other topics. The eBay questions were chosen this year because the company has rolled out several controversial policy changes that outraged a vocal group of users -- mostly eBay sellers unhappy with new fee rates and feedback rules. The survey set out to gauge how the general online population felt about using eBay.
The biggest caveat here is that the poll asked people what they plan to do in the next year. And plans can change, particularly if someone needs to unload a record collection or buy that rare Beanie Baby. And we can't directly tie the loss of interest in eBay to its policy changes. People may be planning to spend less in general, an understandable sentiment in today's economy.
But what we can take from the survey is this: People aren't as enthusiastic about using eBay these days. And winning back a ho-hum audience is a tough job.
Related reading:
EBay nails Q1, but questions remain
EBay's unfair discount program
EBay CEO to step down
