eBay published a list of its most-wanted products this holiday season. Not coincidentally, the eBay hottest products list comes from a few select categories that eBay has spent the last 12 months investing in and promoting.
eBay executive Jordan Sweetnam published the “Most Wanted” Guide in a post on Wednesday. “Last holiday season we watched ecommerce grow exponentially. This year people are still doing most of their shopping online, but now discovering different categories and new types of inventory – from the rare and coveted to the sold-out-everywhere-else. This is an ideal situation for eBay because it’s where we are so strong. Shoppers can rely on the incredible selection you bring to the marketplace and find that perfect gift – from what’s hot and in-demand to the personal and one-of-a-kind, in every category and condition.”
In introducing the guide, Sweetnam wrote, “Following tradition, but with our unique eBay ‘twist’, I wanted to share some of the hottest only-on-eBay items across key categories that are showing up (so far) in searches, sales and watch lists.”
Included were five pairs of sneakers, five luxury watches, five luxury handbags, five items from its refurbished tech, and five toys. If you’ve been reading EcommerceBytes, you’ve read our coverage of eBay’s vertical strategy in the first five of those six categories.
One line jumped out: “Shoppers are more eager than ever to match the individuals on their gift lists with something special.” It’s a line right out of Etsy CEO Josh Silverman’s playbook. Etsy has been promoting its site as a place to get something special for a few years now. But the categories eBay is promoting as special is different from what Etsy is promoting. Check out this 2018 CNET interview with Silverman to see his take on “special.” eBay, Etsy, and Amazon are all competing for overlapping categories, so it’s not surprising some of their strategies and messaging would at times overlap.
Sweetnam continued in Wednesday’s post, “This is more than a savvy way to save money or practice more conscious consumerism, it’s a clear shift towards gifting (and getting) things that nobody else has, because the gift is something really thoughtful and hard to find. Most exciting, it’s a trend that only you, eBay sellers, can deliver on with the limitless options – the unique, collectible, vintage, pre-owned and more – available across your millions of listings.”
Sweetnam said he was incredibly optimistic about the rest of this holiday season and New Year ahead. “We’ll continue to bring insights like these to you – from what’s happening in the business to the latest trends that can inform how you showcase your remarkable selection.”
You can find Sweetnam’s post with the specific products on the Most Wanted guide on the eBay Seller Announcement board.
Golly gee whiz what a coincidence!
And the sellers that make the most money are the ones eBay favors!
Not new news!
Hmmm. No USED clothing, no GENTLY USED items, no COLLECTIBLES. No anything the those categories… isn’t that why most of us started on eBay to begin with? As I have thought for more than a year now, sellers like us are not really welcome anymore on eBay. If we can’t afford to buy wholesale merchandise, we are pretty much out of luck.