Ebay Company Case

We realize that EBay has been very successful business. In comparison to other online auctions EBay is the most used auction site. We have looked at other online auctions such as ubid.com, onlineauction.com and webidz.com and in comparison to EBay they offer much of the same services that your company offers. They however do not offer the same amount of name brand security that your company offers. However this could change in the future and in order to prevent this from happening EBay must look for new opportunities.

From our studies we see your company has put in place many services that help stimulate the buying and selling of goods on its site. Many of these services are free of charge or have a very low fee to use. For example, buyers and sellers can use Pay pal to pay or receive payment for auctions that have ended and registration is free for EBay users. For those who are selling items on EBay they are given tools that allow them to calculate shipment costs to anywhere in the world. For the buyers, your company gives them useful search options. However, we have found an opportunity that your company has not taken advantage of as of this current time. We recommend that EBay moves ahead of their competition by forming partnerships with shipping companies that would allow discounts in shipping rates for EBay users.

This can be implemented by allowing users with high positive feedback to take advantage of this option. Much like the move to use pay pal for paying for items this new opportunity would encourage sellers on EBay to sell more often and to more truthfully in their descriptions. For those who purchase items though EBay those customers would be encouraged to pay sooner than they normally would and to purchase more in order to build their positive feedback and start receiving shipping discounts. We want the buyers and sellers of EBay to realize that EBay is working for them to help them find what they are looking for and isn't just another "middle man."

We understand that eBay's corporate vision will shape the future of the Internet and provide developers with global opportunities. One focus will be on business development and marketing. We do understand that when the holiday season comes around, online activities tend to drop. We see that the company has several competitors out there in the market that has also been a threat to the company. What we would like to suggest is that you join with your competitors. We have research that when Christmas time is near many people want to be able to lay their hands on the products that they are purchasing. With the antiques, clothing, accessories, and even computer shops we can join the team and split the profit down the middle. Customers will more likely enter these shops while shopping for Christmas. While shopping, eBay will be right there as well as at home to monitor their purchase. What the store might not have, they will at least have eBay there to help customers with their findings.

In our research into your company we discovered that there was a safeharbor program that provides trading guidelines and information regarding disputes and the misuse of eBay services. This program allows users to receive information about their online eBay activities. It has account balances, bidding, selling, and a feedback report. When we talked to online shoppers, the number 1/2/3 reasons they don't buy on eBay are fraud, fraud, and fraud. While we don't doubt that actual fraud on eBay is low, the problem is that all the eBay/pay pal phishing schemes and stories of fake/fraudulent items and the actions of a few bad sellers have created an environment of buyer fear on eBay that results in buyers leaving the marketplace. We recommend that eBay needs to take a strong stance not only on nuking bad sellers (which you'll are doing) but also raising the bar for who can sell on eBay and then standing behind the transactions. We want customers to know when you buy on eBay; you know that if you have a bad experience, they are going to make that right.

Finally, we asked ourselves how this is done. Customer Service is a strong market for any company. Even though, eBay does not necessary provide customer service to buyers and sellers; however, it provides the technology and tools that allows them to trade on. We suggest that eBay customer support will commit to provide the best customer support to all of their members. In order to achieve this goal, customer support representatives should be trained in specific areas and receive ongoing education about the latest eBay Web site changes. A supervisor needs to randomly survey their members to make sure they are satisfied with our service and if they are not, we will ensure them that we will work to make it right. When placing calls to our customers, we need to be able to listen and understand their needs and wants. When looking at our figures below you will be able to see in our analysis report that we do have the cash on hand to accomplish these recommendations.

Looking at the short term liquidity analysis of eBay we see they are very strong. It is not a problem for eBay to meet their short term obligations or to turn their assets into cash in a speedy way. With current ratios in the years 2001 and 2002 at 4.91 and 3.8 respectively and cash ratios at 2.91 and 2.87 in the same years, there is plenty of cash on hand for eBay to do what they need to do to stay a leader in the market and still meet all current obligations. EBay has roughly three times more the assets then they do liabilities. This is good to know as far as the company is concerned but bad for competitors.

Net profit margins and gross profit margins have increased every year and are looking good. EBay's operating expenses have grown less than the gross profit margin. This accounts for the higher gross profit margin which means that the company is paying all of its operating expenses as well as other expenses from it earnings. The short and long-term numbers show us that eBay operates strictly from equity. The company shows no signs of using debt by any means.

With a good ROI, investors and partners, if needed, would be more than happy to help increase the growth of this strong company. The low debt-to-asset and debt-to-equity ratio is a strong financial indicator of how much equity eBay has and uses. The growth potential of eBay is unlimited and the resources to do so are just as good. If the future shows declining numbers or numbers that are leveling out, then this will be another reason to use the strong assets of eBay to go forward in any direction you choose in order to expand profits. You here at eBay have the resources needed

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