Service Marketing Management in Ebay Case Study

Service Marketing Management in Ebay - Case Study Example This research will begin with the statement that eBay (www.ebay.com) is managed by EBay Inc., an Internet company based in America. Ebay.com offers an Internet-based service that allows for online auctions, selling and buying of new and second hand products. While the company originally began functioning in US, today it has localized branches in Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Singapore, United Kingdom, Poland, Philippines and Taiwan to name a few. Besides Ebay.com, EBay Inc also owns the sites of PayPal and Skype among its other businesses. Since the site was established in the year 1995, it has become the largest place in the world to buy and sell a range of products to a range of people. In April 2006, eBay also opened its new eBay Express site. This site works like a standard Internet shopping site for consumers from United States. A UK version and then a German version were launched later in the year and offers brand new items sold by pre-vetted sellers. T he company works with the mission to provide a global trading platform where practically anyone can trade anything. The company has a unique offering of an auction-based sales service where retailers or private seller can present their item to purchasers. Demand and supply: The level of demand and supply on eBay is high as there are many people seeking to sell what they do not need for a good deal. Approximately the site has 212 million registered buyers and sellers as of date. A wide range of things like rare items, new products, collectibles and used goods can be found for sale on the site. The site is well known as a good place for comparison shopping as many similar products are listed side by side. Auction-style listings, fixed price formats and Dutch auctions are a few kinds of auctions the site provides for. However there are cases where the required products are not available. Not much can be done in cases where demand exceeds capacity and customers just have to live with th e fact that sellers are not selling the required product. Services marketing integration and management: Customers usually search for products on parameters like price and product features. eBay allows customers to sort similar items based on pricing, making the task of purchasing a relatively easy one. Phone help is offered to select members only (those who sell a minimum of $3000 worth goods per month through the site). Live chat with customer service representatives is however available. Areas where eBay dissatisfies customers include wrong shipping labels and insufficient customer support as all queries are not addressed with the same interest. The blame culture is high at eBay, and though the site issues regular warnings, blogs and advice, many blame the site for wrong transactions. One criticism regards its privacy policy whereby eBay turns its user information to law enforcement agencies often without a subpoena. While no solid proof has been generated for this case, it is a popular rumour, popular enough to be believed by its wide customer base as true. Finally no panel of experts or support system is available to identify whether a particular product is worth the money or not.