If you’re a sports card dealer who sets up at shows, you’ve got competition in the room. The biggest card dealer in the world just set up across the table from you.
And he can take his inventory all over the room.
eBay announced this week that buyers worldwide spent close to a staggering $2 billion on eBay shopping on their mobile phone or other device last year. The amount is more than triple what was sold on mobile devices in 2009.
Growth of eBay buying in the United States was up 175%.
Following the success of mobile applications such as eBay Mobile for the iPhone, the new arrivals take advantage of cutting-edge technologies.
On October 11, eBay delivered its first version of eBay Mobile for Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 mobile platform. The application allows users to track items that they’re watching, buying and selling, in addition to messages. Users can save and reuse eBay searches, filter for auction items or Buy It Now items, and sync with their existing my eBay content. The application has also been translated for use in the U.K., France, Germany, Australia and many other global regions.
Clare Gilmartin, Vice-President of eBay Europe said on Tech Crunch, “It’s staggering to think that $2 billion worth of sales has been generated through a platform that didn’t exist a couple of years ago, and on a device that didn’t exist three years ago.”
eBay’s mobile applications for Blackberry devices were updated in November, and for Android devices shortly after that. Recently, an iPad version 1.3 made its debut. Built on a new software layer, it will deliver better and faster search results than previous versions.
For sports card sellers and shop owners, potential buyers carrying mobile devices with an eBay app will mean they’ll have to try and compete with eBay sellers who are virtually in the same room. In the past, collectors could talk about “buying on eBay” in an effort to get sellers to lower their prices. Now, they can show those same sellers. It has probably made for some uncomfortable moments already.
The good news for those who sell on eBay is that the apps have become so widespread that there are more buyers out there–and buying is now easier than ever.
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