Should I consider buying furniture online through Ebay

A good story featured in the April issue of Metropolitan Home talks about Shawn Henderson, who furnished his Manhattan apartment through buying furniture on Ebay. Shawn Henderson was an interior decorator who formed his own business. Later he was asked by Ebay to head up their “Home and Garden” category. At any one time there are up to 850,000 live listings for the category accounting for $5 billion in sales. That is a staggering number to consider. When I first learned about Ebay many years ago, I did nothing. I figured that it was an online fad that would not last and that I had other things to spend my time on. Well times have certainly changed! Too bad I did not have the foresight to invest in that stock.
Now in 2007 Ebay is a powerhouse in almost all retail areas. Some people still think that there are only items in used or second hand condition for sale similar to attending a live auction. I am surprised when I talk of the company the reaction that I receive from those people. I do not have the exact numbers, but I would venture to say that a majority of listings are brand new products where sellers are using Ebay as their retail storefront.
Another amazing feat of Ebay is how they have established themselves into merchandise categories that historically would be viewed as needing a salesman or a “brick and mortar” storefront. Ebay Motors is now the number one seller of automobiles in the country. How can people buy a car without looking at it first?
Car dealers have always provided a service by offering knowledge, test drives and repair facilities. I can tell you first hand that looking at cars online is very easy and informative. I can look at listings in mere minutes as opposed to driving to car dealership lots. Additionally, I am not a fan of the “hard sell” and prefer to look on my own terms and not hear the sales pitch until I am ready to listen and therefore, further along in my decision making. The listings provided have an incredible amount of detail that can easily be followed. Another advantage is the relative ease of comparing prices, models, extras, mileage from your mouse.
The same circumstances that apply to cars hold true for furniture. There are thousands of listings for chairs, sofas, barstools and tables that can be delivered directly to your house. In future articles, I will discuss in more detail how to use Ebay to find furniture online that suits your interior decorating tastes.