FairMarket announced a strategic relationship with eBay that will enable merchants, manufacturers, and distributors on the FairMarket platform to sell their goods directly through eBay. "This relationship with FairMarket will enable eBay to reach a whole new group of merchants,"
said Brian Swette, eBay's COO.
ValueVision International, a national home shopping network, will be one of the first FairMarket clients to use the eBay sales channel. FairMarket merchants, with or without their own site, will be able to list their items through the FairMarket Network or on the eBay site. This offering is expected to be available early in the second quarter of 2001.
When asked how eBay's agreement with FairMarket may affect traditional sellers, eBay spokesperson Kevin Pursglove said that additional merchants and products will make eBay a more robust marketplace. FairMarket merchants must sign the same user agreement and will pay the same fees as all other eBay sellers. Mr. Pursglove felt that entrepreneurial sellers will always find a way to compete, citing quality of service as an example.
Mr. Pursglove did acknowledge, however, that eBay is changing to a certain extent. He said there is some maturing and some evolving that is bringing a different mix of buyers and sellers to the eBay site.
FairMarket's products and services provide an automated and integrated platform that allows businesses to easily place listings, receive orders and fulfillment information and manage transactions from their existing commerce platforms. FairMarket's existing solution includes product upload integrated directly with a merchant's inventory system, order capture and management, back-end fulfillment integration and ability to schedule listings. FairMarket also provides merchants with professional services, including account management, end-user support, custom
integration and analytical services. FairMarket's customers include major corporations such as JCPenney, Dell Computer Corporation, CompUSA, New Line Cinema, Virgin.Net and MSN.
http://www.fairmarket.com http://www.ebay.com
