eBay 2001 Annual Report Download - page 9

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Please find page 9 of the 2001 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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Foster eBay Community AÇnity
We continue to enhance what is already the largest and one of the most loyal online trading communities
on the Web. We have aggregated a significant number of buyers, sellers and items listed for sale, which in turn
has resulted in an extremely vibrant trading environment. eBay sellers enjoy generally high sell-through or
conversion rates and buyers enjoy an extensive selection of broadly priced goods and services.
Key components of our community philosophy are maintaining an honest and open marketplace and
treating individual users with respect. We seek to maintain the satisfaction and loyalty of our frequent
buyers and sellers by oÅering a variety of community and support features such as announcement and
bulletin boards, customer support boards and personal pages as well as other topical or category-speciÑc
information exchanges. Our trust and safety initiatives, including user veriÑcation, requirements for new
sellers to have a credit card on Ñle, insurance, vehicle inspections, escrow, authentication and appraisal are
all intended to bolster our reputation as a safe place to trade.
The eBay Online Trading Experience
The eBay trading platform is a fully automated, topically arranged, intuitive and easy-to-use online
service that is available on a 24 hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week basis that enables sellers to list items for
sale in either auction or fixed-price formats, buyers to bid for and/or purchase items of interest, and all eBay
users to browse through listed items from any place in the world at any time. The eBay websites offer buyers
a large selection of new and used items that can be difficult and costly to find through traditional distribution
channels and offer sellers one of the most efficient and vibrant online distribution channels available.
Registration
Any visitor to eBay.com and our international websites can browse through the eBay service and view
the items listed for sale. To bid, list or purchase an item, buyers and sellers must Ñrst register with eBay
by completing a short online form and conÑrmation process.
Buying on eBay
Buyers typically enter eBay through its home page, which contains a listing of major product
categories, featured items and theme-oriented promotions. Users can search for speciÑc items by browsing
through a list of items within a category or subcategory and then ""click through'' to a detailed description
for a particular item. Users can also search speciÑc categories, interest pages or the entire database of
listings using keywords to describe their areas of interest. Our search engine generates lists of relevant
items with links to detailed descriptions. Each item is assigned a unique identiÑer so that users can easily
search for and track speciÑc items. Users also can search for a particular bidder or seller by name to
review his or her listings and feedback history and search for products by speciÑc region or other
attributes. Once a user has found an item and registered with eBay, the user may enter a bid for the
maximum amount he or she is willing to pay at that time, or for those listings that oÅer the Buy-It-Now
feature, purchase the item by accepting the Buy-It-Now price established by the seller. In the event of
competitive bids, the eBay service automatically increases bidding in increments based upon the current
high bid, up to the bidder's maximum price.
We encourage direct interaction between buyers and sellers, potential buyers wishing additional
information about a listed item can contact the seller through email. We believe that this interaction
between potential buyers and sellers enhances the trading experience on eBay and is an important element
of our service. Once each bid is made, we send the bidder an email conÑrmation, an outbid notice to the
next highest bidder and automatically update the item's auction status. During the course of the
transaction, we notify bidders immediately via email if they are outbid. Buyers are not charged for making
bids or purchases through eBay. In addition, buyers can also specify items of interest on a service called
""Favorite Searches'' (previously called ""Personal Shopper'') and receive automated email messages when
these particular items are available for sale on eBay.
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