Ebay Executive Summary

Ebay, as a company itself, fits more in the category of an oligopoly, which is actually pretty common in any market. Other alternative websites include Yahoo!, Amazon, and Quibids, but there are only a small number of them, certainly not hundreds as in monopolistic competition. Also, eBay is interdependent on the few other auction website companies, competing with the fees they charge, as well as quality of customer support, and buyer/seller reliability. Another characteristic of eBay that coincides with it being considered an oligopoly is the fact that it has numerous entry barriers. It’s such a large company with many restrictions, and it would be hard for an up and coming substitute auction website to break into the market and compete with eBay or the other top companies in the industry. (6)

Connected strengths decide eBays force of rivalry and henceforth the productivity and engaging quality of

Ebay is primarily service providers who connect the sellers and buyers by providing platform to sell and buy any goods.

Best Buy is operating in an open market. There are many more firms offering similar products and as such rivalry among the consumer electronics retail industry are considered to be high. According to Yahoo Finance, there are approximately 7 major companies that are traded publically and sell predominately electronic products. There are numerous privately held retailers that serve specific niche markets. With a

eBay already has many competitors including Amazon.com, Online shopping is becoming more and more common. Stores such as Target and JC Penny have developed sites where people can shop from home. This poses a large threat to eBay. It is now not only competing with other online auction sites but also online retailers.

This report seeks to evaluate the major issue facing eBay with regards to its international strategy. This will be done through the analysis of eBay’s competitive environment using the Porter’s 5 forces and positioning in the industry using the BCG portfolio matrix. Following which, we will proceed to identify the sustainable competitive advantages of eBay using the resource-based view of the firm. The core competence of eBay will also be discussed. Through an overview of the above mentioned analyses, we will propose recommendations to address the problem faced by eBay.

eBay’s strong presence in the ecommerce world has provided the company with considerate amount of cash flow. Table 1 represents eBay’s cash flow statement for the past three years. Creditors often took at the cash flow statement to determine the credit rating for a company. The more cash a company can generate, the higher its credit rating will be and the company can issue more debt in the bond market at a low interest rate. The operating activities measures the cash flow that is generated on a day-to-day operations. Cash flow from activities has decreased significantly in 2015 compared to 2014, but net income increased significantly when compared to last year. eBay’s net cash provided by continuing operating activities decreased almost $352 million, which is the biggest reason why cash flow from activities decreased. A creditor will be concerned because eBay is generating less cash from its core-operations and thus increasing its credit risk and investors bearing more risk that eBay will not be able to pay back its debt. Cash flow from investing activities measures the acquisition and disposal of long-term investments. eBay’s cash flow from investing activities increased from the prior year. eBay purchased more property and equipment, which is a good indicator because eBay is expanding its presence which could generate a higher net income in the future. In 2015, eBay’s board of directors approved a diversion of PayPal from eBay. PayPal’s assets was

The threat of rivalry for eBay is moderate. The low barriers of entry create many ambitious competitors into this market. Yahoo Auctions is becoming an intense competitor with eBay in the market. EBay is able to attract their customers by providing them with the best service at the lowest price. One of the key aspects to appealing customers is brand identity. Customers always recognize Google, Amazon,Yahoo, and Overstock.com, which is why these companies have become major competitors and threats to eBay. In addition, there are also low barriers to exit in the

Based on the analysis of the five competitive forces affecting eBay, it appears that the online auction

The company eBay Inc. is an American multinational Internet consumer-to-consumer corporation. Founded in 1995 by Pierre Omidyar in San Jose, California, it is now a multi-billion dollar business with operations localized in over thirty countries including China and India. It’s main enterprise is eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website that allows people and businesses to buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services internationally. Millions of collectibles, décor, appliances, computers, furnishings, equipment, domain names, vehicles, services, intangibles and other miscellaneous items are listed, bought, or sold daily on eBay. Anything can be auctioned on the site as long as it is not illegal and does not violate the eBay’s Prohibited and Restricted Items policy.

    Assessment of eBay´s choice of market entry strategy for China, listing both the advantages and disadvantages of its acquisition strategy Assessment of the potential benefits and risks of eBay´ s joint venture with Tom Online Assessment of both companies: eBay and Tom Online, decisions on their respective percentage of stake

The company eBay began in the living room of Pierre Omidyar in 1995. The company was simply created to connect individuals for the exchanging of goods and services. As a computer programmer, Pierre designed what people referred to as an auction web, connecting millions of people globally through the use of the internet. The growth of eBay was quick and continuous, and today is a biggest global internet business. However, with all of eBay’s success, the company has struggled in Japan, China, and other Asian markets. Yahoo and eBay have both similar and different strategies they use to approach the Asian market. China made a significant move

Many of eBay's current and potential competitors will not be able to attract the number of registered users' equivalent to or beyond eBay (See Exhibit D) because they do not have longer operating histories and greater brand recognition that has been attained by eBay's network economies from its first-to-market advantage.

In this way, that implies flipkart has an edge over ebay as far as consistency in conveyance and bundling and so on. Distinctive venders from everywhere throughout the nation versus a solitary dealer from a

The fact that eBay does have some successful competition means that its strategic capability has become less unique. There is a hint in their competitor profile that innovation and perhaps adaptability to different cultures as they innovate is not core to eBay and something which has been developed more successfully by others working within their own national culture. Indeed, eBay rules in its own territory of North America and in Europe. The search capability of eBay also means that niche players do not really make sense, whereas the consumer trust that comes from being a big player is worth everything when trading on-line, as is the notion that whatever you want it will be on eBay because of its size. Thus, the so-called network effects of eBay (the bigger the company, the more successful it will be) and its first mover advantage that has led to this level are key to its success.