Ebay Business to Serve Industrial Buyers

A new eBay Business marketplace located at www.ebaybusiness.com brings together all business-related listings on eBay into one destination, making it easier to find business and industrial equipment and supplies.

With more than 500,000 listings of business items every week, small businesses across a wide range of industries can find capital equipment, office technology and wholesale lots on the online auction site.

The eBay Business marketplace offers the following products and services:

Vertical Industry Marketplaces — Capital equipment and supplies related to metalworking, restaurant & foodservice, test & measurement, construction, agriculture, industrial supplies/MRO, commercial printing, medical, laboratory and more.

Office Technology — Computers, laptops, networking & telecom equipment, wireless phones, software, printers, PDAs, office furniture, equipment & supplies.

Wholesale Lots — Wholesale listings across a broad range of product categories, such as computers, electronics, media, apparel, toys, sporting goods and more.

“Businesses buying and selling on eBay is a natural extension of our business model,” said John Herr, general manager and vice-president of eBay U.S, based in San Jose, Calif. “Our users have proven that eBay can be as relevant for industrial, office technology and wholesale products as it is for consumer products.

“For example, our Business & Industrial categories increased by 90% in gross merchandise sales in each of the last two years, as existing eBay users expanded their usage of eBay from personal use to also include professional use.”

eBay’s metalworking equipment category grew 53%, generating $34 million gross merchandise sales (GMS), and the construction and agriculture equipment categories grew an average of 115%, generating $31 million GMS in 2002.

DDTI, a machine shop in Gainesville, GA, has equipped its entire facility by purchasing equipment on eBay. DDTI has purchased computer systems, laboratory equipment, welders, drill presses, sensors, electrical enclosures, valves and fittings, and a 10-ton roof-mounted air conditioner.

“The bottom line is that without eBay, we could not have afforded to put together our shop, period!” said Greg Smith, president of DDTI. “The total cost of what we spent on eBay was $100,000. That’s approximately $750,000 savings off of the manufacturers’ list prices.”