Big name in e-commerce, eBay
is now focusing on live-shopping, or social commerce, to gain interactivity. The group is thus launching its own live and instant auction platform.
eBay this week announced the launch of Live by eBay, an online auction site that every month will offer internet users to indulge in a rather amazing social commerce experience. Intended for seasoned collectors, but also for amateurs, it aims to democratize the purchase of rare objects, in a format that is more open and above all more entertaining than what is done in the traditional way.
Auctions from your sofa, no commission fees please!
From February 27, and at the rate of one Sunday per month at 6 p.m., Live by eBay hopes to bring together enthusiasts, collectors and the curious, to whom it will allow them to acquire works of art and collectibles online, in just a few clicks.
Yes, we are indeed talking about an auction-style experience, without the stress of rooms reserved for this purpose or the fear of not mastering the codes, for lack of having the necessary expertise. And without having to move either, the idea being that the experience is lived at home, from your sofa or terrace. And since everything is done online, the commission fees, which can reach 30% in the auction room, simply disappear.
One Sunday a month therefore, these are rare and original pieces, such as works of Street Art, jewellery, sneakers, furniture or design objects and collectible playing cards, which will be auctioned, after having been appraised. by professionals, with prices starting at 10 euros. And the format offered by eBay has a certain interactive value.
An interactive format to boost buyers’ adrenaline
The originality of the format lies in its unfolding. Each item will be auctioned for an initial duration of 60 seconds. After each auction, a 30-second countdown will be triggered, and so on until the auction is won by an online participant. ” eBay already allows French people, individuals or professionals, to sell and buy works of art in different formats, including auctions. The experience offered by Live by eBay goes much further by giving way to live and instantaneous “Explains the general manager of eBay France, Céline Saada-Benaben, about the platform.
With these timed auctions, eBay thinks it can boost the adrenaline of potential buyers, based on the fact that one in two French people associates auctions with a moment of excitement and exaltation. The company is therefore betting on this famous spirit of competition (to win the bet) which prevails among 44% of those questioned (according to an IFOP study of March 2021 on the subject).
The spirit of competition, the online interaction, the entertaining aspect… Everything comes together, in the eyes of eBay, to make its platform live-shopping devoted to the auction a success. And if Man dreams by definition of fun, it is difficult at this stage to know if consumers will let themselves be seduced, at a time when the Monday blues which are coming may be felt.
On the same subject :
Brut and Carrefour create Brut Shop, a company that wants to shine on social commerce, but what is it?
Source: eBay press release
1