@tonycea wrote:
One has to wonder if the move to mobile devices is killing off eBay in general with the way things are going now days ??
Wondering what you all think the future is going to hold when the majority of users are on tiny screens ??
I still sit at home on a PC, but wonder how many of the general public still do, the people I talk to at the flea markets all tell me their computer is their phone, so I don't know how well that bodes for eBay down the road.
tonycea,
Well, since you asked for thoughts about the move to mobile, I will gladly give you my thoughts.
I am PROUD to be a Luddite. I do NOT use a cell phone. (I never owned one). I do not use a smart phone. (I never owned one). I do not use a tablet. (I never owned one). I do NOT use any apple product. (I never owned one).
I bought my first computer in 1999 and I used that computer for 8 years before buying my second computer in 2007. When the second PC saw its last days, I bought my current PC in 2013 and I use it for everything I do on eBay.
Now, as far as how I see the direction eBay is going . . . eBay is going to target mobile users going forward. eBay is going to target younger users who are prone to use their smart phones for nearly everything. Older folks who use PCs and who do not adapt to mobile, will "age-off" or die. Adapt or die. To me, it was buying my first PC (in 1999) or falling behind with how society was going about commerce (at THAT time). Also, remember, back in 1999, the first smart phone wasn't even in existence yet. Apple didn't come out with its first generation iPhone until 2007.
As with the evolution of Apple technology since 2007, the capability of these portable devices (iPhones) gets more powerful/robust with its increasing capabilities. Your first PC can't take pictures, can it? The smart phones of today sure can and some of them seem to be able to take pretty good ones too.
With its small form factor, mobile devices, give its users FREEDOM not to be tied down to their PCs. I mean, when laptop computers were available, people bought these in lieu of buying desktops because of their mobility. And, over time, laptops became more powerful and lighter. Then technology companies came out with the smart phones and these have also become more powerful and capable than early computer technology.
Who buys PCs these days apart from businesses and a few Luddites like me? Remember when IBM made computers, and there was DELL, Gateway, Hewlett-Packard, Apple, etc. There are fewer computer manufacturers today because there are fewer people buying computers and are changing their buying habits as to the kind of devices they buy.
eBay, I surmise, recognizes this too, and is making constant changes to cater to mobile users. Remember when eBay came out with its policy changes to sellers regarding the amount of text that could be used in their listings to be limited to, I believe, 800 characters? That change was to cater to mobile users.
I know the sellers are eBay's customers and NO matter how much SCREAMING the sellers are doing, eBay isn't going to listen. WHY? Because eBay is after a portion of the BUYERS' MONEY that they bring to the site to buy from eBay sellers. If buyers are increasingly using mobile technology to do their shopping in the brick-and-mortar world OR online, then it, I genuinely believe, is in eBay's financial interests to go that direction too.
Adapt or die.
