I imagine the PR folks at eBay were rubbing their hands gleefully when they saw the attention paid to the company last week by Vice President Cheney http://digbig.com/4brex. (Perhaps he should have disclosed that eBay CEO Meg Whitman appeared in an ad for President Bush this year http://www.georgewbush.com/Innovators.)
Cheney pronounced the government's economic data was not taking into account the 400,000 people who collect cash selling things on eBay. I personally find the claim absurd and insulting to eBay sellers. If businesses sell on eBay, they pay taxes like every other business in this country (yes, even Mom & Pop businesses pay taxes, probably more than their fair share).
This number (it's actually 430,000) of eBay sellers has been floating around since mid-February. So where did the number come from?
eBay released an announcement on February 23, 2004, touting growth in its business segment http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y04/m02/i24/s02. Included was the statement, "Today, there are more than 430,000 sellers on eBay.com selling full-time or part-time, compared to 150,000 reported by eBay previously."
The day after eBay released those numbers, I spoke to Jordan Glazier, General Manager of eBay Business. He said the statistic citing 430,000 sellers was based on an AC Nielsen study of 196,000 eBay users, but he could not tell me how they extrapolated those numbers to come up with the 430,000 figure, or describe the methodology used in the study. The number is comprised of full-time sellers whose only source of income is from eBay, and part-time sellers who use eBay to generate a second income or use eBay as a secondary channel for their main business.
Leslie Walker, columnist for the Washington Post, referenced that figure in an online discussion just last week. "To my way of thinking, someone running a jewelry store in Boca Raton who sells 10 percent of their merchandise on eBay isn't making their living there. That definition used by eBay probably includes many thousands of established merchants who sell a small amount of stuff on eBay,..."
Let's face it, the biggest beneficiaries of ecommerce on eBay are the senior executives and shareholders of eBay. Let's hope they pay their taxes.
One of our loyal readers, Al, wrote to say he has been affected by the Florida hurricanes. He hopes his customers understand delays. He is also concerned that being unable to list for 4-5 days could affect his Powerseller status, as he sells small items. As a third hurricane, Ivan, bears down, good luck to everyone.
If you want an inexpensive way to reach AuctionBytes readers, you might consider our Buyers Market classifieds. For a $25 annual subscription, you can advertise your auctions, storefronts, Web sites, services, and even brick and mortar shops on this section of our Web site http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/market. One user described them as "mini-Websites" because you can go in any time and change your ad, and you can include a photo or logo. And if you include a "Buy Now" button, your listing will appear on Froogle.
Buyers Market ads are also included at the end of every issue of our newsletters on a rotating basis (paid ads only). You can try it out for free, and if you like it, it's easy to sign up. http://www.auctionbytes.com/cgi-bin/classifieds/register.pl
Enjoy this issue, and thanks for reading.
About the author:
Ina Steiner is Editor of AuctionBytes.com and author of "Turn eBay Data Into Dollars" (McGraw-Hill 2006). She has a background in marketing and research in the high-tech and publishing fields. If you have story ideas, comments or questions, send them to ina@auctionbytes.com.
