Question

Suspicions about arbitrage have a long history. For example, Valerian of Cimiez, a Catholic bishop who lived during the fifth century, wrote, “When something is bought cheaply only so it can be retailed dearly, doing business always means cheating.” What might Valerian think of eBay? Do you agree with his conclusion? Briefly explain.

Answer 1

Valerian won't have approved of eBay because the functioning of eBay is against his beliefs.

But we can't agree with his conclusion.Following are the reasons

> first of sellers aren't selling cheaply bought products dearly. Ebay provides them with the following advantages which allows them to sell at a low Price

* sellers get access to a large market since ebay serves customers globally.

* sellers get two options- Fixed price listing and auction listing which is not available in other markets

*E bay charges low fee for product listing.

* sellers get access to remarkable savings on shipping .

Now let's analyse it from the customer perspective.

* Buyers get access to a wide range of products.

* customers can get lower prices compared to other platforms.

* ebay serves as an auctioneer for the customer if he bids for a product.

,* its easy to keep track of product and payments and eBay offers good customer support.

* customers are free to express their opinion. They can give negative feed back if the product fails to meet their expectations.

Most importantly eBay jumps in when a shady activity comes into its light. Those who keep eBay safe are the community members, the buyers and sellers who have a common stake in conducting business fairly and honesty. Thus its clear that opinion of Valerian isn't correct when it comes to eBay.