Peer Review

eBay - Searching, Finding, Buying, Selling: Story of a Long tail Online Marketplace

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Reviewed:: Mar 6, 2017 by Business

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:: This is a video presentation by eBay research labs member, discussing the impact of events and interests that will influence searches and interests on the eBay market place. The presentation presents information on the tracking and functions available on the eBay site, as well discussing the relationship between seller and buyer.
Type of Material:: Presentation
Recommended Uses:: This could be used as a supplemental material, either in class, or as an additional assignment.
Technical Requirements:: Internet connection with speed sufficient for streaming
Identify Major Learning Goals:: - The student will learn about the “differing capabilities, motives and trust” among the buyer and seller, - Students will understand the technical challenges of the online marketplace - Students will understand he tools available on eBay and how sellers and buyers can avail themselves of the tools.
Target Student Population:: Due to its length and focus, the presentation would fit best in an upper-level class like E-commerce, however it would be appropriate for all college-aged and above, particularly those interested in online auctions in general, or eBay in particular
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:: A basic understanding on online marketplaces, Long Tail concepts and marketing would be very helpful.

Content Quality

Rating:
Strengths:: - The presentation was recorded in 2008, and runs for 1 hour 40 minutes. - It appears to be a comprehensive illustration of eBay’s functions by an employee who is well-versed in the site’s capabilities. - The presentation begins with a review of eBay, its history and its correlation between offline and online behavior, and moves through a discussion of the technical challenges of finding, buying and selling items. - While specific to eBay, the presentation does provide much information regarding the buying/selling relationship that would transferable to other similar online auction sites.
Concerns:: - The presentation is a little slow to get started – it takes about 10 minutes before the true content really gets underway, and attention is “grabbed.” - At times, the visuals are difficult to see due to the camera angle and lighting. - Although not designed as such, there is no interactivity; an instructor would need to craft complementary materials for its use. - It does not provide insights into learning objectives, have any interactivity, or provide much in the way of background support.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:
Strengths:: - The content contained in this presentation is exceptional, and is rooted in metrics that eBay itself uses. - Through excellent graphics, examples and anecdotes, the information does come alive. - A student could relate to the recognizable pop-culture and other illustrations used, and the camera strikes a good balance between focus on the speaker and the presentation slides. - Students are exposed to finding, buying and selling challenges, such as searching criteria, desirability (supply and demand), and mis-categorization, respectively. - The discussion also reviews the feedback score, and how this influences additional selling/purchasing. - Students could readily learn a great deal of content about the online auction. - Instructors could identify specific time-stamped segments of the video for students to review, and that would relate to and support specific topics relevant to online selling, marketplaces, etc.
Concerns:: - The presentation was not designed for anything other than viewing, therefore an instructor would need to create supplemental instructional material if desired. - The information provided was also developed in 2008 – this doesn’t inhibit the overall content/learning objective, but does affect some of the data/slides provided. - The video is only average quality; the presenter is a bit hard to understand, and as such the closed-captioning of the presentation has many errors. - The topic moves along rather "ploddingly" at times, and it is somewhat difficult to remain engaged.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:
Strengths:: - The video is strictly online, and therefore could be viewed on mobile devices for easier portability. - Streaming speed would certainly affect the viewing quality, however this reviewer had no difficulties. - If one increases the screen zoom, and turns "off the lights" the visuals presented are easier to view. The video plays smoothly and audio is quite good.
Concerns:: - This presentation’s visual appeal and level of engagement is subjective. - A student interested in eBay would likely find the material interesting, however it is a long recording and the material can be dry at times. - The closed-caption text has many inaccuracies in the attempt to "understand" the presenter. - The is no interactivity, and keeping students engaged would be difficult.

Other Issues and Comments:: Instructors will need to carefully review the presentation, and identify specific time-stamp markers for topics and points they wish students to view. Furthermore, learning objectives, assignments, questions and any other activities will have to be developed by the instructor.
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