Changes Bring eBay Bumps

As eBay tries to re-position itself as a more traditional retailer, its numbers and share prices fall.

eBay was where you could find a bargain in the auctions, and sometimes you still can. But more and more, the site has been moving toward a more retail or “Buy It Now” culture, and the re-positioning hasn’t been a good one.

comScore has reported that eBay’s site traffic in the period since November 3 is down 16% over the same period last year, even though Cyber Monday found it to be the busiest site on the Web. The company’s shares are down, and analysts are predicting that eBay will post the first revenue decline in its 13-year history, according to the Independent.

The company says customers prefer buying at fixed prices, rather than bidding, although auctions remain a vital part of the site. However, with shoppers abandoning eBay for other sites, that would appear not to be the case.

eBay does remain the world’s largest second-hand car dealer, though, which accounts for about 22% of its gross global merchandise value. The only problem, of course, is that in these days of recession, car sales have dropped.