eBay’s growth has slowed, but not by much compared to other e-commerce companies. In the most recent quarter, it had 153 million active accounts. That was up from 135 million in the same period a year ago. Gross merchandise volume reached $20 billion, up from $18 billion in the same period the year before — an unimpressive showing. While eBay has decided to break off its PayPal unit, its core business merchandise business has not stalled entirely.
That bring us around to whether the eBay model can be maintained with ongoing success in future quarters. The $710 car is clearly not at the core of eBay’s success, even if it is a measure of diversity. The meat of eBay’s sales comes from PCs, clothing, consumer electronics, toys and home and garden goods.
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But back to the car. For a vehicle in fairly poor shape, the Accord has five bidders, which seems extraordinary. Its condition is described as:
1999 Honda Accord EX for sale — very solid car that just needs a few repairs. The passenger’s side door needs a new window motor.
Five bidders for an obscure and basically worthless car. Where did they come from? Well, the car auction section of eBay must receive very heavy traffic. Cars for sale include a $65,000 Ferrari, an $82,000 Maserati and a $149,000 Bentley. At the other end of the spectrum, people can bid on a $750 Pontiac Fiero made in 1984. However, the Fiero has no bidders, which means the eBay system may be extraordinary, but it cannot draw bidders for every product or service someone has to sell.
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