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Visionary entrepreneur Daniel Nissanoff
breaks the news that the eBay auction phenomenon is about
to explode, revolutionizing how all consumers -- not just
eBay mavens -- do their shopping, not only online but offline
too. The big payoff of this revolution will be that consumers
will be able to "trade up" by embracing a new
norm of temporary ownership. We will be able to buy more
of the things we really want because we'll also be
regularly selling off the things we no longer want or need.
We'll be transformed from an "accumulation nation"
into an "auction culture." Welcome to a world
where Manolo Blahnik shoes, a Louis Vuitton handbag, a set
of Calloway golf clubs, or a Bugaboo baby stroller will
actually be smart buys, not indulgences.
As huge as eBay has become -- it is now
the tenth-largest retailer in the United States -- it has
only scratched the surface of the potential for online buying
and selling: by 2004, only 5 percent of all those who had
bought something on eBay had also sold something on the
site. But that is about to change -- dramatically. Nissanoff
reveals that a massive growth of online auction "facilitators"
is under way that will make selling so hassle-free, so reliable,
and so lucrative that the masses of consumers who have stayed
away will jump aboard. Most prominent among the facilitators
are dropshops, storefronts that sell your goods more efficiently
and effectively than you ever could yourself. Thousands
have opened in the last two years with many more to come;
they will soon be as pervasive as Starbucks shops.
Nissanoff, who is at the center of the revolution
as the cofounder of one of the leading-edge facilitator
companies, introduces the full range of new businesses cropping
up -- dropshops, authenticators, refurbishers and repackagers,
personal reselling assistants and closet cullers, as well
as a wide variety of online shops that will lease products,
such as the hottest designer handbags and the latest model
of golf clubs.
Even as the auction culture offers consumers
and entrepreneurs a wealth of new opportunities, it will
also pose serious challenges for retailers and brand managers.
Nissanoff analyzes the challenges and presents an ingenious
set of strategies companies can employ to turn the challenges
of the auction culture to their advantage.
Daniel Nissanoff is a Web entrepreneur
who cofounded the online facilitation company Portero, specializing
in the resale of luxury goods. Prior to that, he founded
one of the first successful b2b exchanges, Partminer, growing
the company to a market value of $500 million. He has consulted
to a number of Global 500 companies about business strategies
for coping with the challenges of the online secondary markets.
He was a 2001 finalist for the coveted Ernst and Young Entrepreneur
of the Year Award.
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