The Ebay Phenomenon: Business Secrets Behind the World's Hottest Internet Company (Wiley Audio) [Abridged, Audiobook] [Audio Cassette]

David Bunnell (Author), Richard A. Luecke (Author), Chris Ryan (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2001 | Series: Wiley Audio

Get the real story and tap into the innovative strategies of one of the Web's top businesses -- eBay. With over ten million registered users and over one million auctions being held daily, eBay is the world's largest personal online trading company. Savvy managers and entrepreneurs around the world recognise the impact the company has made on the business world: eBay invented a new industry, creating an exciting original paradigm for digital commerce. This book taps into the dynamics and strategies that have made eBay one of the most profitable E-commerce companies in business today and reveals how eBay customers have prospered and profited from the site. Revealing the philosophies and inner workings of this digital giant, this book gives readers an unparalleled insight into this company that continues to find innovative ways to beat competitors, including Amazon.com and create tightly knit E-communities. They'll also discover valuable business lessons as Bunnell uncovers eBay's future plans for successful digital commerce, developing customers for life, and creating a community of customers. Approximate running time: 180 minutes.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A good yarn for those who like to read about clever business types." (Freelance Informer, 26th January 2001)

"The book does provide an interesting look at the types of business strategies that one of the real Internet success stories has adopted." (Internet Works, February 2001) --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From the Inside Flap

It was dubbed an E-Titan by the New York Times . . . boasts more than 10 million registered users . . . holds 1 million-plus auctions daily . . . and sells over $113 of gross merchandise every second. The juggernaut that is eBay generates more economic activity than any other Internet site and turns a very nice profit. Yet it was only a few years ago that eBay was barely more than an idea. How does a company grow from zero to such a dominant position in such a short time?

The eBay Phenomenon tells the inside story of how a hobby/experiment run from Pierre Omidyar's Silicon Valley apartment gave birth to not just a new business model but a whole new industry-creating one of the most powerful forces on the Internet. Featuring interviews with eBay insiders such as CEO Meg Whitman, this compelling and instructive book reveals how, with no blueprint or road map to follow, eBay executives and employees invented their business on the fly-in Internet time.

You'll see how they adapted traditional business activities to the new world of e-commerce, including brand development, customer acquisition and retention, outsourcing of key functions, and strategic alliances. You'll discover how eBay overcame a major challenge from Internet heavyweight Amazon.com. And you'll meet some of the thousands of entrepreneurs and small business owners who have used eBay as a launch pad for their own success.

This book uncovers the two key decisions-seemingly unimportant at the time-that enabled the company's stunning growth, provided infinite scale potential, and gave eBay the flexibility to alter its shape and extend itself almost automatically toward new opportunities. It also explains why Whitman, whose expertise slammed eBay's growth into high gear, was willing to leave her new job running a $600 million division of Hasbro and move 3,000 miles to take the reins of a tiny operation with only a few dozen employees.

The eBay Phenomenon does more than unearth the fascinating behind-the-scenes secrets of one of the hottest companies in existence today. It distills valuable lessons that will help any entrepreneur, business owner, or manager-whether the business is Web-based or brick-and-mortar-make decisions that attract customers, promote growth, and sow the seeds of overwhelming success. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Penton Overseas; Abridged edition (April 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1560158425
• ISBN-13: 978-1560158424
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,809,086 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not much meat, February 5, 2001

By 

tim747 (Glenview, IL USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The e-Bay Phenomenon: Business Secrets Behind the World's Hottest Internet Company (Hardcover)

This book gives an overview of ebay's creation and why it has been a success. It gives no insider insights however. It was fun to read but I did not learn much from it. This book does not have substance.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Sold!!, October 25, 2000

By 

Tina "Tina" (Montreal, Quebec) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The e-Bay Phenomenon: Business Secrets Behind the World's Hottest Internet Company (Hardcover)

This book basically delivers what it promises to. Lots of somewhat dry facts about how a small Internet business boomed into one of the hottest "sites" available.

I am a big Ebay fan. I wanted to find out more about the people who created Ebay but also wanted to get a feel for the direction these people were hoping to guide the future of the site to.

Although I thought the story was fairly interesting, this book was very dryly written. Not much was cited other than the absolute bare bones facts and the writing was not particularly interesting.

While I realize this is a business book, I think there was much room for interesting tidbits, advice or funny stories. None here. Too bad...

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must read for anybody interested in e-business/e-commerce, October 13, 2000

By 

"apsrose" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The e-Bay Phenomenon: Business Secrets Behind the World's Hottest Internet Company (Hardcover)

This book about ebay has been written by the author of "Making the Cisco connection". The book is interesting to read because it presents a holistic picture of the business success of ebay. Each chapter focuses on an area of the company that is responsible for it capturing 90% of the on-line auction market. The company has been growing at 40-50% per quarter in terms of employees, users and revenues. There have been problems managing the growth with servers becoming overloaded. However, ebay is an electronic commerce or e-business success story. The most interesting facts from the book is that a virtual community has been built around the ebay business. The community is a key reason for the success of the company. Buyers and sellers provide feedback on each other for future buyers and sellers to examine. Discussion boards exist for many topics for the community to help each other through shared experiences. Interesting also is the modern corporate culture of the company as discussed in one chapter. Also, the business strategy of the company of being in a way a virtual company where buyers and sellers meet then use third party companies to ship, pay and arrange for handling of products auctioned. Ebay is simply an information exchange company with no products at all. A businessman's paradise company. For all those interested in successful e-business read this book.