eBay’s success continues to amaze. News.com writes about how businesses are using it as a channel for purchasing:
Large corporations are increasingly using it to peddle used or refurbished assets that previously would have been sold to wholesalers. And while the trend has affected many industries, it has been particularly popular in the high-tech market, where it has attracted some of the biggest names in the business.
Technology itself has been a key factor in the proliferation of this online marketplace. Many companies are building internal pipelines that can send inventory data directly and automatically to eBay for listing–essentially turning the auction site into an arm of their operations and purchasing departments.
This year, eBay introduced a special section aimed at this marketplace, saying that business buyers now represent more than $1 billion of annual merchandise sales in the categories of capital equipment, office technology and wholesale lots.
Sellers have responded in kind. Thousands of high-volume operations have signed up to use a new tool designed by eBay and Accenture specifically to help business customers sell idle assets, excess inventory and returned products on the auction site. The adoption rate was nearly double eBay’s expectations, Accenture said.
