eBay Inc. has retained its dominant position in the online auction market, according to a Gomez Advisors survey released Thursday.
The survey reported eBay boasts 70 percent of all online listings. A great portion of eBay’s (EBAY)
success may be attributed to its increasingly expanding variety of
destinations on the site, the firm said. eBay recently launched its go Local initiative,
where consumers in 20 large urban markets can take part in local auctions.
“eBay clearly remains the dominant player in online auctions,” said Gomez
Advisors senior analyst Martin De Bono. “Over 70 percent of all online
listings are housed on eBay, and their closest competitor, Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO)
, has 24 percent. That means that all the remaining auctions sites are left
to fight over just 4 percent of the market,” he said.
The research group estimates the online auction market will generate $2.9
billion in 1999, rising to $4.5 billion in 2000 and $6.5 billion in 2001.
Though eBay shows no signs of slowing its progressive moves, De Bono said
“a few very significant competitors have entered the space very recently
and pose a real threat,” referring to GO
Network and FairMarket Auction
Network.
Two weeks ago, FairMarket Inc. said it will host customized auctions for
businesses that want to provide auction services to their Web users. The
company intends to enable these businesses to customize the auction
software with their own Web site’s look and feel, while capitalizing on the
capabilities of FairMarket’s software.