eBay and Sotheby’s join forces again
eBay and Sotheby’s want you to buy more high-end stuff (from them, of course). So, they’re marrying Sotheby’s cache and eBay’s technological know-how.
eBay is creating a new marketplace where it will stream some of Sotheby’s New York auctions, so customers can bid online. The idea is to reach new, younger consumers, who’d never go to an auction.
“You’ve got millennials who are starting to make some money, and they’ve grown up around this technology, and would find it silly to go somewhere to do something like this,” says Paula Rosenblum, a managing partner with RSR Research.
Sotheby’s can just piggy back on eBay’s existing technology, the question is: What’s in it for eBay?
“There’s never any harm from having a venerable brand like Sotheby’s sprinkle some of its pixie dust, hopefully, onto eBay,” says Sucharita Mulpuru, a retail analyst with Forrester Research.
Mulpuru says eBay wants to attract more affluent consumers to its site. But they won’t be able to use PayPal for their new paintings and purses – at least not right away.
The two companies tried a partnership a dozen years ago, but it didn’t work. They’re hoping this time will be different.
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