Vishal
A Comparative Analysis of eBay and Amazon 29
Chapter III
A Comparative Analysis of eBay and Amazon
Sandeep Krishnamurthy University of Washington, USA
ABSTRACT
Even though Amazon.com has received most of the hype and publicity surrounding ecommerce, eBay has quietly built an innovative business truly suited to the Internet. Initially, Amazon sought to merely replicate a catalog business model online. Its technology may have been innovative- but its business model was not. On the other hand, eBay recognized the unique nature of the Internet and enabled both buying and selling online with spectacular results. Its auction format was a winner. eBay also clearly demonstrated that profits do not have to come in the way of growth. Amazon was initially focused on BN.com as a competitor. Over time, Amazon came to recognize eBay as the competitor. Its initial foray into auctions was a spectacular failure. Now, Amazon is trying to compete with eBay by facilitating selling and strengthening its affiliates program.
INTRODUCTION
It is odd in some ways to be comparing Amazon and eBay. To most people, Amazon is a retailer selling products to consumers and eBay is an auction house where consumers congregate to sell to one another. However, a keen analysis reveals that these two companies are direct competitors. For instance, the only site to receive more visitors than Amazon during the 2002 holiday season was eBay. It is now well known that Amazon considers eBay to be its biggest competitor.
Copyright © 2004, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited.
30 Krishnamurthy
Amazon.com is perhaps the company that is most closely tied with the e-Commerce phenomenon. The Seattle, Washington based company has grown from a book seller to a virtual Wal-Mart of the Web selling products as diverse as music CDs, cookware, toys, games, tools and hardware. At the same time, the company now
Chapter III
A Comparative Analysis of eBay and Amazon
Sandeep Krishnamurthy University of Washington, USA
ABSTRACT
Even though Amazon.com has received most of the hype and publicity surrounding ecommerce, eBay has quietly built an innovative business truly suited to the Internet. Initially, Amazon sought to merely replicate a catalog business model online. Its technology may have been innovative- but its business model was not. On the other hand, eBay recognized the unique nature of the Internet and enabled both buying and selling online with spectacular results. Its auction format was a winner. eBay also clearly demonstrated that profits do not have to come in the way of growth. Amazon was initially focused on BN.com as a competitor. Over time, Amazon came to recognize eBay as the competitor. Its initial foray into auctions was a spectacular failure. Now, Amazon is trying to compete with eBay by facilitating selling and strengthening its affiliates program.
INTRODUCTION
It is odd in some ways to be comparing Amazon and eBay. To most people, Amazon is a retailer selling products to consumers and eBay is an auction house where consumers congregate to sell to one another. However, a keen analysis reveals that these two companies are direct competitors. For instance, the only site to receive more visitors than Amazon during the 2002 holiday season was eBay. It is now well known that Amazon considers eBay to be its biggest competitor.
Copyright © 2004, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited.
30 Krishnamurthy
Amazon.com is perhaps the company that is most closely tied with the e-Commerce phenomenon. The Seattle, Washington based company has grown from a book seller to a virtual Wal-Mart of the Web selling products as diverse as music CDs, cookware, toys, games, tools and hardware. At the same time, the company now