Introducing eBay In Demand

Add a comment 6 Introducing eBay In Demand

FEATURED POSTRichard Brewer-Hay / Wednesday, October 29th, 2008

Introducing eBay In Demand

Another demo I received at the eBay Innovation Demo Expo last week was eBay In Demand. The difference between eBay In Demand and a number of the other demos I viewed is that this one is now live on the site – albeit in limited Beta.

Starting this week, eBay In Demand was made available to approximately 6,000 “beta users” and the plan is to open it up to all qualified users later next month (which I believe to be well over 10 times that number). eBay In Demand is a new program that provides timely information to sellers about specific inventory that is in high demand and low supply on eBay.com. Essentially, by providing inventory that buyers want, participating sellers have the opportunity to increase conversion rates and sales while helping fill eBay’s inventory gaps.

eBay In Demand will be available to PowerSellers with minimum 30 day DSRs of 4.8 and above. Over 700 products will be displayed on the site at the time of launch.

The eBay In Demand program is a result of an analysis of inventory on the site that falls into the following product categories:
1. Home & Garden
2. Sporting Goods
3. Clothing, Shoes & Accessories
4. Media
5. Toys
6. Consumer Electronics / Tech

Scot Wingo got a sneak peak of the product and posted his first impressions over on eBay Strategies.

Cheers,
RBH

Related Reads
eBay Strategies: eBay to release new weapon in the selection battle – In Demand
TameBay: eBay In Demand – Hot Products in Short Supply
More

Add a Comment

Scot Wingo / October 29th, 2008 at 1:01 pm

Hey RBH,

Thanks for the link – it’s Scot with one ‘T’ BTW.

Congrats on the newest Hay.

Dave W / October 29th, 2008 at 1:56 pm

Richard

While this new tool might be useful for the top level sellers, it is no help at all to the little guys and gals. Furthermore, restricting it to PowerSellers with 4.8’s etc, and only offering it for 6 categories which favor Big Box sellers only goes to prove that eBay is disadvantaging the low volume or individual item sellers.

Only Big Box or huge sellers will be able to meet the supply requirements for this tool.

For those sellers it is great news. For the little guys that created the huge growth eBay experienced in years gone by, this move goes to prove that eBay will become a high volume, low cost retailer like Sam’s Club. I don’t shop at Sam’s Club either.

Gail / October 29th, 2008 at 2:01 pm

This helps the small, individual sellers how?

eBay can add all the gimmicks it wants, including their ridiculous coupon campaign. If the buyer can’t find anything (best match), they won’t stick.

Where are the holiday promotions? Where are the TV commercials? Where is the marketing department? Pink slipped! eBay is relying on sellers to do their own marketing this season.

eBay has no inventory, sells nothing, ships nothing. Yet it puts out this press release:

http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/081028/20081028005502.html?.v=1

Putting words in a press release is like wishing on a star. It doesn’t make them come true. What will buyers find on eBay? Last years overstock and returns. Why not the latest, hottest items? Because eBay itself doesn’t sell anything, and it can’t entice it’s new Diamond Powersellers to sell what they don’t have!!!

eBay can NOT compete with Amazon. Amazon has its own warehouses, sells, and ships its own items. Amazon offers discounts and free shipping, too. But, it’s discounting and shipping its own items. It’s not trying to coerce its third-party sellers into selling below cost with the threat of hiding their listings.

eBay doesn’t have third-party sellers, it has us. Without us, nothing is sold on eBay.

That’s the problem with eBay management in a nutshell. They just don’t get it. The eBay model doesn’t work John Donahue’s way. Square peg, round hole.

They can’t squeeze any more out of us. There’s a break-even point, and we’re past it. eBay in Demand isn’t going to change that.

Amber / October 29th, 2008 at 4:46 pm

Hey Scot,

Umm…..before you go correcting spelling, perhaps you should proofread your very own little post on eBay strategies.

don’t shoot he messenger

kind enought

I’m sure there are more. I stopped reading due to the typos.

Justin / October 29th, 2008 at 6:25 pm

Wow! That sounds like a really great find for ebay sellers. I guess that could be a great tool for product sourcing… hopefully the beta testers don’t find all the jewels before the rest of us get to try it! Is it a paid service?

Davey / October 31st, 2008 at 11:02 am

Richard,

With this new program in mind which is only for the largest ebay sellers (never mind how smaller sellers can be more nimble), how about having Lorrie Norrington back on INK after her last blog post several months ago, telling us how much eBay appreciates its small sellers and how important we are, and having her recap all that eBay has done for us smaller sellers since to show us the “lovin?”

It might be a really short blog post, maybe like just Lorrie’s picture or something, and a blank page. This new program reiterates again that other than words, small sellers are not important to eBay at all, save millions of negative advertising feet now on the street.