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Bill Gates said, “The Internet will help achieve ‘friction-free capitalism’ by putting buyer and seller in direct contact and providing more information to both about each other.” Pierre Omidyar, eBay’s founder echoed this when over 10 years ago, he decided to create a market place that uses auction as a trading and pricing mechanism.
When Pierre founded eBay over a September weekend in 1995, he had a simple idea for an online marketplace — where people from all over the world could come together to trade practically anything. Anyone could come to the site, sellers would pay to list items, buyers only paid for what they bought, and eBay would manage the site. It was, and still is, a worldwide community grounded in commerce.
eBay’s mission is ambitious but simple: to provide a global online trading platform, where practically anyone can trade practically anything, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, on every continent and across every time zone. We have no inventory, no warehouses and no stores.We are a marketplace that opens up opportunities for individuals, small businesses and big companies around the world to trade efficiently, automatically, and with exceptionally low costs. Including eBay India, eBay has a local presence in 36 markets around the world, with a community of 233 million registered users from more than 150 countries.
eBay’s purpose is to pioneer new communities around the world built on commerce, sustained by trust and inspired by opportunity. The community is the heart and soul of eBay and has some of the most talented and entrepreneurial people I have ever met. From the laid off worker who started a business out of necessity, to the hobbyist who discovered economic opportunity by accident, to the working mother who left her career to spend more time with her family. They are first time entrepreneurs and teach us that given passion, persistence and hard work, the sky is the limit for what we can accomplish.
We wouldn’t have existed without the Internet. The connections of so many people over time and space allow us to bring efficiencies to markets that were formerly inefficient. The most exciting feature of online auction is the way it makes previously inefficient transactions viable and opens doors for people who were previously excluded from participation in the global economy.
It was extremely difficult for a craftsman or small business owner in India to reach buyers in other parts of Asia, let alone the wider markets in North America or Europe. The costs of establishing a distribution channel, carrying out marketing activities, and taking care of the financial aspect of trading on the other side of the world were prohibitive for all but the biggest businesses.
On our marketplace, it’s becoming as easy for a seller in Delhi to reach a buyer in New York as it is to reach a buyer across town. Not only can that small shop owner in India find markets in the US but she has a potential customer base of 233 million people around the world.
Indians have strong entrepreneurial spirit. Internet provides them the opportunity to start successful online businesses with minimal investments. Let’s hope we soon see a million entrepreneurs bloom!
mediacentreindia@ebay.com
The author is Rajan Mehra, Country Manager, eBay India
