eBay

Online Business Index

Future prospects How eBay sellers view the next 12 months

Supporting small business Policies needed to promote growth

Who’s selling what online An overview of eBay.com.au’s pioneering entrepreneu Future prospects How eBay sellers view the next 12 months Supporting sma business Policies needed to promote growth Who’s selling what online overview of eBay.com.au’s pioneering entrepreneurs Future prospects How eBay sellers view the ne 12 months Supporting small business Policies needed to promote growth Who’ selling what online An overview of eBay.com.au’s pioneering entrepreneurs Futur prospects How eBay sellers view the next 12 months Supporting small busines Policies needed to promote growth Who’s selling what online An overview of eB com.au’s pioneering entrepreneurs Future prospects How eBay sellers view the next 12 mont Supporting small business Policies needed to promote grow Who’s selling what online An overview of eBay.com.au’s pioneering entrepreneu Future prospects How eBay sellers view the next 12 months Supporting sma business Policies needed to promote growth Who’s selling what online overview of eBay.com.au’s pioneering entrepreneurs Future prospects How eBay sellers view the ne 12 months Supporting small business Policies needed to promote growth Who’ selling what online An overview of eBay.com.au’s pioneering entrepreneurs Futur prospects How eBay sellers view the next 12 months Supporting small busines Policies needed to promote growth Who’s selling what online An overview of eB com.au’s pioneering entrepreneurs Future prospects How eBay sellers view the next 12 mont Supporting small business Policies needed to promote grow Who’s selling what online An overview of eBay.com.au’s pioneering entrepreneu Future prospects How eBay sellers view the next 12 months Supporting sma business Policies needed to promote growth Who’s selling what online overview of eBay.com.au’s pioneering entrepreneurs Future prospects How eBay sellers view the ne 12 months Supporting small business Policies needed to promote growth Who’ selling what online An overview of eBay.com.au’s pioneering entrepreneurs Futur prospects How eBay sellers view the next 12 months Supporting small busines Policies needed to promote growth Who’s selling what online An overview of eB com.au’s pioneering entrepreneurs Future prospects How eBay sellers view the next 12 mont Supporting small business Policies needed to promote grow Who’s selling what online An overview of eBay.com.au’s pioneering entrepreneu Future prospects How eBay sellers view the next 12 months Supporting sma business Policies needed to promote growth Who’s selling what online overview of eBay.com.au’s pioneering entrepreneurs Future prospects How eBay sellers view the ne 12 months Supporting small business Policies needed to promote growth Who’ s selling what online An overview of eBay.com.au’s pioneering entrepreneurs ture prospects How eBay sellers view the next 12 months Supporting business PoWho’s selling what online An overview of eBay. ering entrepreneurs Future prospects How eBay sellers view the next 12 months

An overview of eBay.com.au’s pioneering entrepreneurs

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Who sells what online

’s selling what online An overview of eBay.com.au’s pioneering entrepreneurs Future prospects How eBay sellers view t 12 months Supporting small business Policies needed to promote growth An overview of eBay.com.au’s pioneering

SURVEY OF AUSTRALIAN ECOMMERCE BUSINESS MARCH 2010

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Editorial

The Online Business Index is produced by Businesswriters & Design for eBay in Australia. Contributions to future issues are welcome.

Who sells what online

Case study: Turning a passion into a business – Shaun O’Brien

C

4/

Future prospects

Survey methodology

Case study: The way of the future – Ashley Ryan

6/

Supporting small business

Case study: Doing more with less – Ray Campbell

7/

Responding to sellers’ concerns

8/

Did you know

The Online Business Index is a major new survey of Australian businesses engaged in ecommerce. It has been compiled using survey responses from 454 of eBay.com.au’s top sellers, whose annual turnover ranges from $60,000 to $6.4 million. The survey was sent to eBay.com.au’s top 3,000 sellers by sales volume and was conducted by market researchers Stokes Mischewski between 2 December 2009 and 11 January 2010 using seller information provided by eBay. The sample on which the index is based represents online businesses of different sizes from around Australia with varying relationships to eBay. Of the 454 sellers who responded to the survey, 273 of the top 1,500 sellers had sales ranging from $108,977 to $6,421,412 and 181 of the next 1,500 sellers had sales ranging from $60,892 to $108,959. The questions the sellers answered covered: business type, the categories into which their products fell, their sales channels, their business outlook for the next 12 months, influences on business growth, their attitudes to government policies and regulation and measures that would help online businesses.

have your say The Online Business Index provides an insight into online entrepreneurial businesses. But it also provides this increasingly important sector in the Australian economy with an opportunity to express their views. Thank you to all business owners who contributed to this edition of the Online Business Index. If you believe there are issues it should canvass, we’d be delighted to hear from you. Please email us at: [email protected]

Giving online businesses a voice Welcome to the Online Business Index, eBay’s first ever survey of Australian businesses engaged in ecommerce. The survey, which we intend to conduct annually, focuses on eBay.com.au’s top 3,000 sellers and provides illuminating insights about who they are, their current business situation and their expectations for the coming year. It also tells us what we – and policy makers – can do to help promote growth in this newly emerging and dynamic sector of the Australian economy: online entrepreneurs.

eBay is proud of the role it plays in incubating Australian ecommerce. Many of the country’s leading ecommerce players first got their start on eBay and while some have created their own successful websites, many continue to use eBay.com.au as a sales channel. That’s unsurprising, given eBay’s ability to generate large amounts of internet traffic. Over seven million Australians visited eBay in December 2009, according to Nielsen NetRatings//Netview. But as our first Online Business Index shows, it is small businesses that are the real ecommerce pioneers. It is they who, through eBay, are delivering an estimated $2.6 billion annually or 0.27% to Australia’s gross domestic product1, underlining eBay’s central role in ensuring the ongoing economic wellbeing of the online business sector in Australia.

Deborah Sharkey Managing Director eBay Australia & New Zealand Pty Ltd 1 February 2008 research report by The Allen Consulting Group

eBay.com.au (the Australian site) is just over ten years old. During this time we’ve seen it grow from a site that started as a place for collectors and those who like trying out new technology to one offering the widest selection of new products online in Australia. From a start of only 9,000 registered Australian members in 1999 it now has a staggering eight million registered users. That is one in two adult Australians. The increased demand has stimulated the growth of online entrepreneurs. The top 2,000 sellers on eBay.com.au have an annual turnover starting at just under $100,000 and reaching over $10 million. In 2009, 106 sellers generated over $1 million each in total sales.

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who sells what

online

Since its foundation by Pierre Omidyar over ten years ago, eBay has become a great deal more than an online garage sale. Thousands of Australians now make an income selling on eBay. They use it to tap into the over 90 million active users globally who shop across 50,000 product categories. As the Online Business Index shows, though over a third have a physical retail shop, eBay remains the prime channel through which top sellers reach their customers, emphasising its importance as a vital incubator for Australia’s ecommerce entrepreneurs. To paint a picture of who sells what online, we asked eBay ecommerce entrepreneurs how they had structured their businesses, and what categories and sales channels they used. The legal structures of their businesses are fairly evenly divided between sole traders and companies. Forty-four percent (44%) of sellers who responded to the survey are sole traders and 40% have taken the step of incorporating and operate under a company structure. This result is to be expected given the relatively modest turnover of many of these online businesses, who have not yet reached a size where the benefits of incorporating outweigh the costs. The proportion operating as a company increases as their turnover increases: 64% of those with sales of over $500,000 on eBay operate as companies.

Most popular categories Online businesses surveyed sell products in a wide variety of categories, with the most popular being home and garden, electronics, fashion (clothes, shoes, accessories, jewellery), cars and car parts. The survey results reflect findings in eBay’s own data and can be explained in part by changing buying patterns. As opposed to the early days when the majority of items were used goods sold through auction, today people are increasingly buying new consumable items at fixed price on eBay. Auctions now make up only 44% of eBay’s global sales. A significant proportion (42%) of businesses surveyed sell in more than one category. Despite being asked to focus on the category in which they sold their main product, sellers on average mentioned 1.5 categories.

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Multi channelling On average, online businesses surveyed use 2.5 sales channels, including eBay. While eBay is clearly the dominant channel accounting for an average of 63% of sales, half of sellers have invested in their own website. Interestingly, over a third also sell through a traditional retail shop. These non-eBay channels account for a relatively small proportion of total sales, as shown in the chart opposite. Further scrutiny of the data suggests that the smaller the business is, the more dependent it is on eBay. But even among those businesses that have invested in other channels, eBay is still the major source of revenue. • Among those with their own website, this channel accounts for 23% of sales, compared with 49% for eBay. • Among those with a retail shop, this channel accounts for 35% of sales, compared with 42% for eBay.

average proportion of sales flowing through each channel (average out of 100)

63% ebay

13%

offline shop

12%

own website

3%

other websites

9%

other

38%

Shaun O’Brien has worked in the retail sector all his life. In late 2002, when he was working as a manager at hardware chain store Bunnings, he started looking into eBay for a business opportunity. Knowledgeable and passionate about home theatre, he identified this as a category that wasn’t saturated and which, thanks to his know-how, would allow him to provide good service. “The product didn’t really matter,” he explains. “But it had to be something for which I could provide a level of customer service that was over and above everybody else.”

It took 18 months before he gave up his day job. During this time he took a month of annual leave to focus on the fledgling business and was convinced he could make a go of it. “It took me six months to convince my wife that I needed to leave my job and then 12 months later, five minutes to convince her she needed to leave hers.” His wife is now his warehouse manager.

eBay

own website

Turning a passion into a business

His first sales were banana plugs (devices that fit on the end of speaker cables). Gradually, he began to sell more items. While continuing to work full time, he ploughed any profits back into the online business.

100% 50%

+

43% other

offline shop

The business predominantly sells accessories such as cables, television brackets and screens for the main electronics components associated with home theatres. In addition to selling through eBay and his own website, Shaun now has three retail stores in Hallam, Geelong and Sydney and turns over close to $4 million a year. He also heads up Australia’s Professional eBay Sellers Alliance (PeSA). Apart from good customer service – Shaun is extremely proud of his 100% Feedback rating from 59,000 transactions and says online businesses are increasingly recognising the importance of good service – he says the main challenges facing sellers are, not surprisingly, price competition and business management skills.

24% other websites

“I haven’t met very many people in the online industry who actually approached eBay with a view to making it a business. Most people, even in PeSA in America, who have very large businesses, fell into it by accident. Or it was a hobby that grew out of control.” That said, Shaun doesn’t believe it’s the role of government or private sector organisations to spoon feed people and teach them how to run a business. “People who want to run a successful business, go and learn how to do it.”

sales channels used by the online businesses surveyed (% respondents)

legal structure (% respondents)

main product categories (% respondents) 25

44

12

13

PARTNERSHIP

10

12 8

6

6

5

BOOKS, COMICS & MAGAZINES

HEALTH & BEAUTY

ANTIQUES

MUSIC, FILM & VIDEO GAMES

COMPUTING

SPRORTING GOODS & MEMORABILIA

COLLECTABLES

CONSUMER ELECTRONICS

CARS, PARTS & VEHICLES

CLOTHES, SHOES, ACCESSORIES & JEWELLERY

HOME & GARDEN

3

4

4

3

OTHER (ALL ≤ 2%)

13

ART

13

BABY

15

40

COMPANY

OTHER

19

CRAFTS/HOBBIES

SOLE TRADERS

3

future

prospects eCommerce expertise can be expensive and time-consuming to build. The platform eBay has developed for its sellers is the result of years of hard work and millions of dollars of investment. In an average month in Australia eBay’s internal team is responsible for over nine billion paid advertisements and search engine placements and sends around 16.5 million emails to members. With this kind of support to rely on and growing consumer confidence, it’s not surprising that Australian sellers feel optimistic about the coming year. To gauge how sellers are feeling about the future, the Online Business Index asked online businesses about their outlook for the coming year, expectations of staffing levels in 12 months’ time and factors that may limit their growth. Not only do 67% feel positive about the year ahead, one in five are ‘very optimistic’. And their optimism may be well founded. According to two major surveys, Australian consumers have started the year with confidence hitting new highs. In January The Westpac/Melbourne Institute monthly survey indicated consumer confidence was 33% higher than a year ago, while the weekly Roy Morgan survey showed a sharp rise in confidence – to the highest level since February 2005. Couple that with the increasing number of Australians who are choosing to shop online – according to Forrester Research, Australian online spending will increase to $32 billion in 2012 – and eBay’s internal data which shows that in Australia in 2009, 106 sellers generated over $1 million in sales. Among those surveyed, the most optimistic of all are sellers of home and garden products. More than a third or 35% of these sellers are ‘very optimistic’ about the coming 12 months. This optimism may reflect recent strong sales throughout the $24-billion home improvement/ hardware industry as homeowners turned to DIY projects during the economic downturn.

Generating more jobs Overall, small businesses in Australia employ 3.8 million people, accounting for around 46% of total private sector employment. According to the Online Business Index, the online entrepreneurs surveyed employ an average of 4.2 staff. Employees include

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permanent and casual, full- and part-time staff, demonstrating these businesses’ widespread support of flexible work arrangements. An indicator of the healthy growth of ecommerce in the small business sector and its contribution to rebounding employment in Australia is the fact that of those surveyed, 38% expect to increase staffing levels in the next 12 months. In 12 months’ time they typically expect to have employed another half a staff member, though the nature of the employment will vary. Only a small proportion (9%) expect to decrease staff numbers with the majority (53%) expecting no change.

Challenges ahead Consumer demand is the number one concern, cited by almost half of respondents, suggesting that like many retailers online businesses were helped by the government stimulus package and do not yet take the recovery for granted. Respondents’ verbatim comments suggest that while the stimulus package helped sustain demand through the first part of 2009, some experienced a slowdown after this had been spent. Exchange rates and the cost of supplies and/or inventory are substantial concerns mentioned by about a third of sellers. Factors relating to government policy such as compliance burden and company tax are of secondary concern, mentioned by 17% and 13% of respondents respectively. Overall, the major factors limiting online business growth do not relate specifically to the challenges of online business. They are challenges facing all small retailers, relating primarily to the simple cost of buying and selling goods.

+

proportion of online businesses feeling optimistic and/or pessimistic about their business outlook overthe next 12 months (% respondents)

The way of the future Christmas 2009 was “phenomenal” for online entrepreneur Ashley Ryan. Working out of home on the Sunshine Coast, she no longer has room for the surfwear products she and her husband Mark have been selling on eBay for the past two years. “So we’re going to build a shed,” she says. “We’re just booming.” The stimulus package, brand-name products, a fair price, free overnight shipping and ‘really good customer service’ are what’s fuelled her sales in the past year. Despite a recent lull in sales, Ashley is confident they will double what they did last year. “We get a lot of return buyers,” she says. With an annual turnover of over $100,000, Ashley only sells through eBay, having shut down a website she had set up because it wasn’t providing the sales eBay does. Although she has no formal training (“On the internet, it’s just so easy to learn anything you want to these days”) Ashley has always been self employed. She has worked in real estate, traffic control and run an import/export business. Then one day, when she decided to clean out her wardrobe and sell the goods online, she discovered eBay. “I made about $1,600 to go shopping and I thought gee, this is good.” A six-week trip to China to source electronics and computer components – which she sells in another category on eBay – saw the business take off. She has come close to opening a retail outlet – mainly to satisfy wholesalers who refuse to sell to online entrepreneurs like herself. “But then we thought, why should we? We wouldn’t sell the amount we do because we wouldn’t have that worldwide exposure.” To drive traffic to her online business, she sends out information and an ‘if you aren’t happy’ card with every item, offers an email newsletter to past customers and uses all the promotional tools eBay provides its sellers. Online retailing she believes is the way of the future. Even if she has to visit a shopping centre, she researches online and compares prices. “There are a lot of businesses on eBay that also have a retail outlet, which is great. But I guarantee they’re selling a lot more than they would from people walking in off the street. For us, eBay’s just a very convenient way of selling.”

21% Very optimistic

67%

46%

optimistic

Quite optimistic

21%

Neither optimistic nor pessimistic

10%

Quite pessimistic 2% Very pessimistic

factors limiting growth in the coming year (% respondents) 47

CONSUMER DEMAND

35

EXCHANGE RATE

Size of business ( % respondents)

1 employee 2 employees 3 to 5 employees 6 to 10 employees 11 to 20 employees More than 20 employees

%

28 27 22 9 3 3

34

COST OF SUPPLIES

23

TRADING OR STORAGE SPACE

17

COMPLIANCE LACK OF SUITABLE STAFF

16

STAFF WAGES AND SUPERANNUATION COSTS

16

RENT/PROPERTY COSTS

16

COMPANY TAX

13

ACCESS TO CREDIT/FINANCE

13 11

INSURANCE COSTS BUSINESS LENDING INTEREST RATES

9

OTHER BUSINESS COSTS EG. EBAY FEES

9

EBAY POLICIES EG. CHANGES, BEST MATCH

5 7

OTHER NONE

1

5

supporting

small business

What kind of help do online businesses want? To investigate the kind of support they’d like to see – and where it should come from – we asked our online entrepreneurs to identify the policy and regulatory measures that would be most useful. What policies would support the growth of online entrepreneurialism in Australia? And which political party has the best policies for online business?

Overall, online businesses are open to efforts to reduce red tape and to government help for business financing. Assistance initiatives from the private sector are less compelling, they say. Interestingly the number one measure identified as being most likely to help was simplification of the GST. GST compliance has long been a burden for small businesses and our survey shows that online enterprises are no exception. Respondents’ verbatim comments also suggest that GST compliance can be particularly challenging for those who import stock. Reduced company tax (probably best interpreted as company and/or income tax, given the number of sole traders), fewer regulations and direct government lending are all supported by a third or more of online businesses.

Encouraging entrepreneurialism While lower taxes was the number one policy suggested to help the growth of online entrepreneurialism in Australia, respondents identified three specific policy areas for improvement. The first, which affirms recent government policy initiatives and investment, is wider access to faster broadband to make online shopping easier and more desirable for more consumers. The second is better postal and delivery services to improve customer experience and boost confidence that items will be delivered on time for the right price. eCommerce has been a boon to postal services in this country as evidenced by the rapid growth of Australia Post’s parcels and logistics business in recent years. According to its latest annual report, despite difficult economic conditions, it posted annual revenue of $1.3 billion, up 2.5 per cent on the previous year.

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For sellers however, postal and delivery service in Australia remains complex. With Australia Post’s variable shipping costs based on size, weight and destination, it is difficult to understand and evaluate. Online businesses in Australia are also facing rising consumer expectations which are increasingly defined by the cheap or zero postal costs they’re getting from global retailers. The third policy area identified by respondents is the policing of online fraud to protect both online retailers and consumers and to build consumer trust in the safety of shopping online. This highlights the importance of a federal approach to online security, so resources are channelled effectively to fight online scams.

Politics and business More than half of our respondents surveyed believe that no political party is actively working in their interests. When asked which party has the ‘best policies for online business’, 54% declined to nominate any party, suggesting there is an opportunity for the government (or opposition) to be seen to be actively fostering online business in Australia.

policy and regulatory measures most likely to help (% respondents) SIMPLIFICATION OF GST COMPLIANCE

48 41

A CUT IN COMPANY TAX FEWER REGULATIONS FOR RUNNING A BUSINESS

35

GOVERNMENT LENDING MONEY DIRECTLY TO SMALL BUSINESSES

27

GOVERNMENT INCENTIVES FOR BANKS TO LEND MORE TO SMALL BUSINESSES

27

ONE AGENCY TO CONTACT FOR ALL REGULATORY REQUIREMENTS

24

FEWER REGULATIONS FOR STARTING A BUSINESS

18 9

OTHER NONE

With an inventory of goods that was of little value overall, but of some value to those who needed a particular item, he began auctioning his left-over stock on eBay. And a new business was born.

2

“It grew from getting rid of stuff that we’d been stuck with into buying in more and more and selling more and more,” Ray says.

Perceptions of key policies that would support the growth of online entrepreneurialism in australia (% respondents) LOWER TAX FOR ALL BUSINESSES, INCLUDING ONLINE

54

INVESTMENT IN FASTER BROADBAND AND UNIVERSAL BROADBAND ACCESS

44

MORE POLICE EFFORT AGAINST ONLINE FRAUD/SCAMS

42 41

IMPROVED POSTAL/DELIVERY SERVICES MORE POLICE EFFORT AGAINST ONLINE PIRACY/COUNTERFEITS

24

INCREASED PRIORITY FOR ONLIINE BUSINESS IN THE FEDERAL MINISTER FOR SMALL BUSINESS’ PORTFOLIO IMPROVED ADVICE ON SETTING UP/ RUNNING AN ONLINE BUSINESS

17

SIMPLIFIED RULES ON CONSUMER PROTECTION

17

OTHER

Doing more with less In 2004 Ray Campbell lost his house. His appliance parts and repair business in Albury Wodonga which he and his wife Cathy ran with seven staff went broke. Cheap foreign imports and the difficulty of passing on increased service costs following the introduction of the GST left him with a tax bill he could not service.

32

A CUT IN BUSINESS LENDING INTEREST RATES

+

24

6

respondents’ choice of political party with the best policies for online business (% respondents)

54%

Five years on, with the business growing at around 100% year-on-year, Ray’s turnover of close to $500,000 is approaching what it was when he owned a bricks and mortar store – but now he’s doing that with twoand-a-half people. Still based in Albury Wodonga, he’s selling his appliance parts through eBay to 40 countries around the world. He advertises extensively online, sells through another Australian online store (which is smaller than eBay and doesn’t provide the same traffic and sales) and uses his own website for catalogues that customers can browse through and use to contact him directly. As one of the first appliance parts suppliers to move online in Australia, Ray is clear on the support he would like to see online entrepreneurs receiving: a more competitive postal service and a government register of online businesses. Product delivery and shipment is vital to the customer experience and online business. Sellers need reliable services to ensure products are delivered quickly and in one piece. Delivery services impact a seller’s reputation as buyers are unlikely to return if they cannot rely on the delivery of products. Meanwhile, Ray looks forward to further expansion. “We’re putting things in place, increasing staff levels, offering more products and it’s still continuing to grow.”

None

7

responding to sellers’ concerns According to the survey, wider access to faster broadband, improved postal/delivery services and the policing of online fraud are top priorities for sellers. What is eBay in Australia doing to address these concerns? eBay in Australia has long recognised that a faster more widely accessible broadband network is vital to the growth of the online business sector and the digital economy. eBay has welcomed the federal government’s $43 billion investment into the National Broadband Network (NBN) and is working closely with government to ensure the country’s largest ever infrastructure project is rolled out as quickly as possible.

Policing online fraud eBay and PayPal employ over 2,000 staff dedicated to maintaining trust in its services. In Australia eBay has developed excellent relationships with law enforcement agencies and works closely with them and with consumer affairs and regulatory agencies to ensure the internet is a safe place to do business. eBay also discourages illegal and unethical activity by: • Publishing policies that are mandatory for all members • Proactively monitoring the site • Retaining and monitoring detailed data on member activity • Providing education on internet safety • Encouraging our members to report suspicious activities to us with a ‘Report this item’ link on every item page • Encouraging police and regulators to contact us whenever illegal activity is suspected

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• Contributing to government education campaigns such as the Australasian Consumer Fraud Taskforce.

Postal service To develop a better understanding of what eBay could do to improve support for sellers, we undertook comparative research to understand delivery services in more advanced ecommerce markets such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. What our research showed was that mailing costs in Australia are in line with those of other countries. But there is, comparatively, a limited range of services and fewer offerings to eBay members. Ease of use is another area that is lagging. eBay’s intention in the coming year is to investigate ways to upgrade its postal centre and to work with Australia Post to simplify and improve service options.

ebay fast facts

Faster broadband

173 million items

have been sold on eBay.com.au in its first 10 years (October 1999 – October 2009). The most popular have been: • Music CDs - 1,012,111 items sold • Women’s jewellery - 992,488 items sold • Women’s dresses (sized 6-10) - 747,000 items sold • NRL trading cards - 349,000 items sold

The first item ever sold on eBay.com.au was a Harmon Kardon amplifier which sold for

$76.00 AUD

Women’s dresses are currently the most popular items sold on eBay.com.au Iconic Australian brands and products sold on eBay.com.au in its first 10 years include:

913,000

 Holden car parts and accessories worth $82 million (excluding actual Holden vehicles)

 64,000 7 52,000 49,000

items of Billabong branded products worth $18 million

R.M. Williams products worth $2.5 million

pairs of Ugg Boots worth $2.3 million • The item that has generated the most interest over the last ten years was a New 32” Sharp LCD TV – which started at $0.01 and sold for $1,414.00 after 1,126 bids in March 2000. • The most expensive item ever sold on eBay.com. au was the last Holden Monaro which sold in 2006 for AUD$187,600 with all proceeds going to the Leukaemia Foundation.

On an average day on eBay.com.au 1 : • A piece of women’s clothing is sold every 6 seconds • A piece of homeware is sold every 6 seconds • A sports item is sold every 12 seconds • A toy is sold every 18 seconds • A DVD movie is sold every 18 seconds • A baby item is sold every 24 seconds • A piece of men’s clothing is sold every 24 seconds • A mobile phone is sold every 1 minute and 12 seconds • A musical instrument is sold every 1 minute and 12 seconds

• An Australian stamp is sold every 2 minutes and 6 seconds • An antique is sold every 2 minutes and 42 seconds • An MP3 player is sold every 4 minutes and 6 seconds • A car is sold every 5 minutes and 42 seconds • A laptop is sold every 6 minutes and 24 seconds • A GPS is sold every 7 minutes and 18 seconds Sales per day averaged over Jun-Aug 2009 1

9

ebay.com.au