eBay 1998 Annual Report Download - page 11

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Please find page 11 of the 1998 eBay annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

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11
• the eBay Café (a chat room for the entire eBay community);
• a bulletin board devoted to user feedback on new features;
• an announcements section that covers new features on eBay or other eBay news;
• customer support boards; and
• “items wanted” listings where users can post notices seeking specific items.
eBay also offers My eBay, which permits users to receive a report of their recent activity on eBay, including
bidding activity, selling activity, account balances, favorite categories and recent feedback. Users with their own
Web pages also can post link buttons from the user’ s page to eBay and to a list of items the user is selling on eBay.
The Company recently introduced About Me, which offers users the opportunity to create their own personal home
page free of charge on eBay using step-by-step instructions provided by the Company. The About Me home page
can include personal information, items listed for auction, eBay feedback ratings, images and links to other favorite
sites.
In addition, in June 1998, the Company donated 321,750 shares of Common Stock to the Community
Foundation Silicon Valley, a tax-exempt donor-advised public charity and established a fund, known as the “eBay
Foundation.” Through the Community Foundation Silicon Valley, the eBay programs abroad and share their
experiences with their students. The Company solicits user suggestions for worthwhile charities through the website.
Customer Support. The Company devotes significant resources to providing personalized, timely customer
service and support. eBay offers customer support on a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week basis. Most customer
support inquiries are handled via email, with customer email inquiries typically being answered within 24 hours
after submission. The Company offers an online tutorial for new eBay users. In addition, the Company offers the
SafeHarbor program and has recently introduced or is developing a number of trust and safety initiatives. See “—
Trust and Safety Initiatives” above.
Marketing
eBay’ s marketing strategy is to promote its brand and attract buyers and sellers to the eBay service. To attract
users to its website, eBay historically has relied primarily on word of mouth and, to a lesser extent, on distribution or
sponsorship relationships with high traffic websites. Today, the Company employs a variety of methods to promote
its brand and attract potential buyers and sellers. Currently, eBay uses strategic purchases of online advertising to
place advertisements in areas in which it believes it can reach its target audience. The Company also engages in a
number of marketing activities in traditional media such as advertising in print media and at trade shows and other
events. eBay also advertises in a number of targeted publications. In October 1998, the Company launched a
substantial national advertising campaign, both in traditional media and online, that is designed to attract new eBay
users. This campaign has included print, a major radio advertising campaign, strategic advertising and sponsorship
placements on high traffic websites and advertising in other media. The Company has benefited from frequent and
high visibility media exposure both nationally and locally. While the Company does not expect the frequency or
quality of this type of publicity to continue, the Company does promote public relations through initiatives such as
online eBay/special event tie-ins and executive speaking engagements. In August 1998, eBay and AOL entered into
a three-year marketing agreement whereby eBay is featured as the preferred provider of person-to-person auction
services in the “Classifieds” and “Interest” areas of AOL’ s proprietary service. In addition, eBay receives placement
and promotions on AOL.com, AOL’ s website. Over the term of this agreement, the Company will pay AOL $12.0
million. In March 1999, the Company expanded the scope of its strategic relationshop with AOL. Under the
amended agreement, eBay will be given a prominent presence featuring it as the preferred provider of person-to-
person trading services on AOL’ s proprietary services (both domestic and international), AOL.com, Digital Cities,
ICQ, CompuServe (both domestic and international) and Netscape. eBay will pay $75 million over the four-year
term of the contract. eBay will develop a co-branded version of its service for each AOL property which will
prominently feature each party’ s brand. AOL will be entitled to all advertising revenue from the co-branded site.