There is a whole list of reasons why people shop on Ebay. You get great customer service and some of the best bargains you can find online. Ebay is quick, easy and convenient and you can get exactly what you are looking for. In a few clicks it is all being delivered to your door.

I would like to argue that while all of these attributes help, none of them are truly what makes Ebay successful. Ebay thrives off of the inherent thrill of auctions. Ebay has become more than simply a venue to buy goods. Ebay in a way is becoming a form of entrainment. Honestly I can fully understand this outlook on the system. Until last week I had never used Ebay before and didn’t understand the phenomena, but now I definitely get it. I decided to post my personal Ebay experience here to illustrate what I mean:

Last week I opened my first Ebay account set up a pay pal account and was ready to do some shopping. Specifically I was looking to buy tickets to see the Lion King in Pittsburgh for my girlfriend’s birthday. At first I thought that I would be able to find an amazing deal that would definitely make using Ebay worth it. After some searching I managed to find two tickets for a very reasonable price and the bidding began. The auction had 2 days left to go until a sale. After being outbid several times at low amounts I decided to wait until the final minutes of the auction to do my serious bidding.

Finally after two days of waiting I sat in front of my laptop with a few of my housing group mates who had become interested with my bidding war. As the price of the tickets sky rocketed and the lead changed as different bidders increased and were matched on their maximum bids, my friends began pressuring me to raise the bar. While I really wanted the tickets, at that point I was bidding also to simply win the auction. With only a few minutes left, as dorky as it sounds, the experience became intense for me. My friends (who mainly just wanted to see me spend a lot of money) were pushing me on saying things like “are you going to take that from him?” when I was outbid and “Kyle if you win this auction it will be the most badass thing you have ever done.” Eventually I was outbid and the auction ended.

While I lost, I enjoyed the experience, I associated a good time with Ebay even when I didn’t win and I feel that is really what makes Ebay attractive. Ebay turns purchasing into a game and people go for that, Americans especially.

US News has more about the Ebay thrill here:

This is unrelated to my post but while doing some research on Ebay I found this funny YouTube video about it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYokLWfqbaU