I certainly have had plenty of experiences with eBay, especially over the last two years. I regularly buy and sell using the service and have only had one transaction that didn't work just as they are supposed to. The fact that it was my very first transaction was unfortunate, but that's the way it goes. However, I certainly do not agree that no traditional hierarchies still exist. Sure they do! There are varying levels of success on eBay, and that rate of success is based on basically the same things that dictate success in the real business world. The person who starts with the most assets has an advantage. They can afford better presentation (meaning photographs, featured ads, bolding and other attention drawing services) as well as better communication and marketing. Money begets money, in the real world and the virtual one.
Additionally, eBay is becoming less and less friendly to those who are just beginning, making the traditional hierarchies of establishment equally applicable to eBay. Today, sellers are no longer able to give negative feedback on buyers. This has a two pronged affect. First, sellers are less likely to get positive feedback from buyers because sellers now have nothing to hold over the head of buyers. If a buyer doesn’t give feedback there is less ability for newbies on eBay to boost their seller rating. The second part then, is that potential buyers are less likely to buy a product from a seller with little to no feedback than they are from an established eBayer. That is similar to real life.
I don’t think that eBay is nearly as much of a community as the article portrays. I am an active eBay user but never have used it as anything more than a bazaar. I think that trying to tie in social community to eBay is a bit of a stretch; almost as though the author just needed a little bit more material for a book…
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