Visionary entrepreneur Daniel Nissanoff breaks the news that the eBay
auction phenomenon is about to explode in a big new way, revolutionizing
how all consumers--not just eBay mavens--do their shopping, not only
online but offline as well. Consumers will be able to "trade up" more often to buy the
brands they most want by embracing a new norm of temporary ownership, in
which they regularly sell off the things they no longer want or need. We'll be transformed from an "accumulation nation" into an "auction
culture" in which Manolo Blahnik shoes, a Louis Vuitton handbag, an Hermès tie, or a Bugaboo baby stroller will actually be the better
deals.
As huge as eBay has become, it has only scratched the surface of the potential for online
buying and selling. In 2004, only 5 percent of all those who had bought
something on eBay had also sold something on the site. But that is
changing, dramatically. Nissanoff reveals that a massive growth of
online auction "facilitators" is under way that will make buying and
selling online so hassle-free, so reliable, and so lucrative that the
masses of consumers who have stayed away will jump aboard. Most
prominent among the facilitators are "dropshops" like iSold It, where you
can bring your goods for sale and they'll handle the whole auction and
shipping process.
Nissanoff writes, "Temporary ownership means just saying no to
second-best and letting yourself reach for the things that will thrill
you over and over again--guilt-free." Readers, start your auctions!
In the short but wild history of the Internet, few companies have
developed such an ideal approach to utilizing the uniqueness of the
medium for business as eBay--hence the title of Adam Cohen's colorful
and insightful corporate biography The Perfect Store. Cohen,
chief technology writer for Time magazine before joining The New York
Times' editorial board, is the only journalist to receive complete
cooperation from the company for such a project, and the combination of
access and experience leads to a well-researched and well-written tale
capturing the essence of this online auction-house phenomenon. In the
process, Cohen reveals how the pioneering site first developed into a
vibrant virtual community, then a cultural icon and a model for
Web-based commerce.
From its beginnings as a hobby site on a Silicon Valley PC, to its
maturation as a real company under the burgeoning fiscal pressures of
cyberspace, to its present status as one of the few original e-business
practitioners to survive the dot-com implosion, eBay has always been
part of the crowd while managing to stand out from it. Cohen helps us
understand why by taking us inside the heads of major players like
Pierre Omidyar, the cofounder who imbued his site with a Libertarian
philosophy responsible for its heart and soul, and Meg Whitman, the
seasoned manager who brought business savvy and a Harvard MBA to its
roller-coaster world. What helps make the book so readable and
informative, though, are Cohen's accompanying observations of the many
other people and events that also helped eBay develop its trademark
direction and characteristic personality. Fans of the site, along
with students of the online world in general, will find Cohen's account
both instructive and enjoyable.
