Small-time horse saddle makers from Kanpur are finding new markets in Germany and the UK. Thanks to a simple listing on eBay’s sites in the two horse-loving markets.
Online retailer eBay wants to give a big push to more exporters such as the Kanpur saddle makers.
“While domestic retail will remain the mainstay for eBay, we also want to accelerate the export business on our site. India is the fastest growing market in Asia Pacific, after Korea, for exports,” says Deepa Thomas, Head – Partnerships and Pop Culture, eBay India.
Currently, there are 30,000 domestic sellers and 15,000 exporters registered on eBay India.
In April, eBay tied up with the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) to give a fillip to small and medium exporters across the country.
While FIEO is engaged in exporter education, eBay provides exporters a platform to sell their goods. “Using one user id, sellers can list their products on any of the 39 country sites of eBay. For instance, we have manufacturers of horse saddles from Kanpur listed on our Germany and UK sites as equestrian sports is very popular in these countries,” says Thomas.
Store fee
There is a “small” listing and store fee for creating a store space for each brand on the site. “Right now, we are giving it free for six months.”
eBay has set up a dedicated team of 100 people for export business development. They are field staff spread across major export hubs of the country.
The partnership is unique to India, says Thomas. “FIEO will educate exporters on documentation and other details such as what sops retail exporters are eligible for.”
Rafeeque Ahmed, President, FIEO, said till now exporters have been dealing in bulk shipments. Now, they will have to tweak their model to cater to retail customers. eBay is facilitating this through knowledge-sharing sessions, he said. Workshops have been held in Chennai for leather exporters, Jaipur for apparel, handicraft and jewellery exporters and in Mumbai across several categories. eBay, along with its subsidiary PayPal, and FIEO will organise nine workshops this quarter.
Over 65 exporters have registered on eBay through FIEO; many more are in the pipeline, said Thomas.
Exports through e-commerce are valued at $1.4 billion in India, according to FIEO estimates.
An e-tailer, not an auction site
eBay is striving hard to break the myth that it is an auction site.
“We are predominantly a fixed price retailer. We are constantly battling to remove the misconception that we mainly do auctions,” says Deepa Thomas, Head – Partnerships and Pop Culture, eBay India.
Globally, eBay started out as an auction site, with a focus on collectibles. But today over 65 per cent of items sold on its global site are on fixed price, says Thomas.
“In India, auctions have always formed a miniscule portion of our play. We only auction collectibles such as coins and stamps; we run celebrity auctions occasionally. But 90 per cent of our catalogue is sold at fixed price.”
eBay started out in India in 2004, after acquiring Baazee.com.
To communicate its position in the marketplace, eBay ran a television commercial in February this year. “The ‘Want it, Get it’ commercial conveyed this message from eBay: If you want something, you don’t have to wait for it,” explains Thomas.
eBay plans to come out with another brand campaign this September.