eBay has been a leading force in EU e-commerce policy discussions and recently launched a version of eBay Main Street specifically tailored to EU countries. On March 20, 2009, Tod Cohen, VP and Deputy General Counsel of eBay Inc., traveled to Bulgaria\'s capital to detail the opportunities and benefits e-commerce offers to both individuals and businesses. While in Bulgaria, Cohen gave an interview to local newspaper Dnevnik. The transcript of the interview and photos from the conference are below, or you can read the original Bulgarian article that appeared in Dnevnik.
Cohen\'s visit to Bulgaria complements eBay CEO John Donahoe\'s trip to Belgium to present the company\'s success combating counterfeit goods. Donahoe also unveiled eBay\'s detailed report on the status of counterfeit goods and offered recommendations for stemming counterfeit sales.
Dnevnik
March 23, 2009
eBay Connects More Buyers to Reliable Sellers
Interview with Tod Cohen, eBay Vice President
Tell us more about eBay\'s recently announced strategy to focus on the sales of second hand goods or goods with reduced prices?
I think the basic idea is that the secondary market is with the widest possible range of consumers, who we can reach. We do not need to sell the latest collection of producers but we should offer variety. The basic advantage of eBay except for the good prices is the wide variety of goods we offer to our clients. The last years we are more focused on the products with fixed prices because the consumers like them.
How do you increase the trust between buyers and sellers?
We shall make the programme better and more secure as we widen the protection of the clients, who use PayPal for electronic payments. We have also changed the algorithm by which the results of a search in the site are generated. We are trying to direct more buyers to the more trustful sellers. This is a big change although even at the most difficult times the percentage of misuse was 0.1%. Our work is to offer a good place where buyers and sellers can meet, but we encounter a lot of difficulties. That is why we are opened to working with the institutions that can enrich the knowledge of the consumers and to impose one and the same rules, rules which people will trust and will also begin using the opportunities offered by Internet.
How did the financial crisis affect you and your clients?
The effect of the financial crisis is so full-scale and our business is so widely spread that we bare the economic consequences along with everybody. We are part of the traditional trade and we are not protected against the recession.