纽约（美国有线电视新闻网）几年前
PayPal 从 eBay 分拆出来时，eBay 被认为是不那么令人兴奋的公司。但今年华尔街的情况肯定不是这样。
eBay (EBAY) 的股价今年已飙升超过 30%，而 PayPal (PYPL) 的股价则下跌了 20% 以上。
两家公司经历了截然不同的 2021 年。现在允许人们买卖比特币的 PayPal 一直受到加密货币市场波动的影响，并对其传闻中提供购买 Pinterest (PINS) 的计划表示担忧，尽管 PayPal 后来表示没有交易正在发生。
相比之下，由于押注于数字商务市场的几个快速增长的部分，即运动鞋、运动纪念品和汽车零件，Ebay 在大流行期间大获成功。
CNN Business 与 2020 年 4 月重新加入 eBay 的 eBay 首席执行官杰米·伊安诺 (Jamie Iannone) 就该公司转型为一家以发烧友为中心的零售商进行了交谈。
“这是 eBay 多年重新构想的一部分。我们关注的这些类别非常庞大，”在返回 eBay 之前曾担任 Barnes & Noble 和 Walmart (WMT) 的高管的 Iannone 说，他在那里工作最多2000 年代。
更关注回头客
Iannone 帮助将 eBay 推向了买家愿意每年多次花费大量金钱的市场。华尔街喜欢这样。
自从 Iannone 回到公司以来，eBay 的股价上涨了 70% 以上。这比 PayPal 和更广泛市场在同一时间段内的收益要好。转向拥有热情、年轻买家的收藏品对公司来说是一个巨大的胜利。
Iannone 表示，eBay 意识到其休闲购物者和所谓的强力买家之间存在很大差异，后者每年多次购买近 1,000 美元。
Iannone 说，eBay 现在将大部分注意力集中在这些受众上，因为迎合忠实拥护者而不是仅仅为了增加一般用户群而在营销和广告上花费更多资金更有意义。
“一些 [电力买家] 醒来，喝杯咖啡，然后转向 eBay，”Iannone 说。 “我们过于专注于收购买家并不惜一切代价获得他们。我们现在倾向于爱好者。”
Iannone 表示，由于这一新的重点，eBay 在今年第二季度通过销售交易卡赚取的收入超过了 2020 年全年在该类别中的收入。
“偶然的企业家”给了eBay一个提振
Iannone 说他喜欢与在 eBay 上开设商店并现在以此为生的人会面。其中包括在 2020 年 NBA 赛季停摆期间被奥兰多魔术队解雇，现在在 eBay 上全职销售运动鞋的人。他说，在大流行期间，这是一个常见的故事，因为许多人离开了传统的劳动力队伍。
“这些都是偶然的企业家，”Iannone 说，并补充说，虽然平台上的大多数人说他们开始在 eBay 上销售是为了增加收入，但近 15% 的人这样做是因为他们失去了工作。
该公司还利用社交媒体和影响者社区的力量——包括在 TikTok 上开展运动鞋营销活动。
该公司已加大力度验证鞋子、棒球卡和乐器等物品的价值。例如，eBay 刚刚收购了运动鞋认证服务 Sneaker Con。它还像股票一样实时跟踪交易卡的价值。 （而且 Iannone 本人最近在 eBay 上为他的女儿买了一个“几乎没有使用过”的双簧管。）
“易趣一直是收藏品交换和再贸易的先驱，”伊诺内说。 “我们倾向于这样做。这一切都是为了重新获得对平台的信任。”
他说，汽车配件是 eBay 的下一个重点关注领域，并补充说，当他需要挡风玻璃零件时，他在 eBay 上找到了一个完美的配件，价格为 9 美元，而在汽车经销商处可能要花费 40 美元。
现在购买并稍后付款——但不是用比特币
该公司还采用更现代的支付方式，以继续吸引年轻的千禧一代和 Z 世代客户。
eBay 现在接受 Apple Pay 和 Google Pay，并且正在以与 Afterpay（Square (SQ) 正在以近 30 美元的价格购买）在澳大利亚建立合作伙伴关系的形式尝试“先买后付”（BNPL）趋势十亿）。
“这确实有助于吸引新客户使用该平台。人们喜欢将其用于高价商品，”Iannone 说。 “BNPL 正在引入更年轻的人群。”
但 eBay 尚未接受的一种趋势是比特币。鉴于加密货币的波动性，Iannone 表示，该公司“在可预见的未来”不会接受其中任何一种作为付款。
How eBay's new CEO turned it into a pandemic winner
New York (CNN Business)When PayPal split off from eBay a few years ago, eBay was considered to be the less exciting company. But that's certainly not the case on Wall Street this year.
Shares of eBay (EBAY) have surged more than 30% this year, while PayPal (PYPL) has stumbled more than 20%.
The companies have had a wildly different 2021. PayPal, which now lets people buy and sell bitcoin, has been subject to the volatility in the cryptocurrency market and concerns about its rumored plan to offer to buy Pinterest (PINS), though PayPal later said no deal was happening.
Ebay, by contrast, has made a big comeback during the pandemic thanks to bets on several rapidly growing parts of the digital commerce market — namely sneakers, sports memorabilia and car parts.
CNN Business spoke to eBay CEO Jamie Iannone, who rejoined eBay in April 2020, about the firm's transformation into an enthusiast-focused retailer.
"This is part of a multi-year reimagining of eBay. These categories we're focusing on are huge," said Iannone, who was an executive at Barnes & Noble and Walmart (WMT) before returning to eBay, where he worked for most of the 2000s.
Focusing more on the repeat power buyers
Iannone has helped push eBay into markets where buyers are willing to spend lots of money numerous times a year. Wall Street likes that.
Shares of eBay are up more than 70% since Iannone came back to the company. That's better than the gains for PayPal and the broader market during the same time frame. The pivot to collectibles that have passionate, younger buyers has been a big win for the company.
Iannone said eBay realizes there is a big difference between its casual shoppers and its so-called power buyers who make purchases of nearly $1,000 multiple times a year.
That audience is where eBay is now putting much of its attention, Iannone said, because it makes more sense to cater to the loyalists instead of spending a lot more money on marketing and advertising just to increase the general user base.
"Some of the [power buyers] wake up, get a cup of coffee and turn to eBay," Iannone said. "We were too focused on acquiring buyers and getting them at any costs. We're leaning in now on the enthusiasts."
As a result of this new focus, Iannone said eBay made more money selling trading cards in the second quarter of this year than it did in that category in all of 2020, for example.
The 'accidental entrepreneurs' give eBay a boost
Iannone said he loves meeting with people who have set up stores on eBay and now make their living from it. That includes someone who was laid off by the Orlando Magic basketball team during the 2020 shutdown of the NBA season and now sells sneakers full-time on eBay. It's been a common story during the pandemic, he said, as many people left the traditional workforce.
"These are the accidental entrepreneurs," Iannone said, adding that while most people on the platform say they start selling on eBay to boost their income, nearly 15% are doing so because they have lost a job.
The company is also leveraging the power of social media and the influencer community -— including a sneaker marketing campaign on TikTok.
The company has increased efforts to authenticate the value of items like shoes, baseball cards and musical instruments. For example, eBay just acquired sneaker authentication service Sneaker Con. It's also tracking the value of trading cards in real time like stocks. (And Iannone himself recently bought a "barely used" oboe for his daughter on eBay.)
"Ebay has been a pioneer of collectibles exchanges and re-commerce," Iannone said. "We're leaning into that. It's all about regaining trust on the platform."
Motor vehicle accessories are the next big area of focus for eBay, he said, adding that when he needed a part for a windshield, he found a perfect fit on eBay for $9 that probably would have cost $40 at the auto dealership.
Buy now and pay later — but not with bitcoin
The company is also embracing more modern forms of payment to continue attracting younger millennial and Gen Z customers.
EBay now accepts Apple Pay and Google Pay, and it's experimenting with the "buy now, pay later" (BNPL) trend in the form of a partnership in Australia with Afterpay (which Square (SQ) is in the process of buying for nearly $30 billion).
"This does help attract newer customers to the platform. People like to use it for high-priced items," Iannone said. "BNPL is bringing in a younger demographic."
But one trend eBay isn't embracing just yet is bitcoin. Given the volatility in cryptocurrencies, Iannone said the company will not be accepting any of them as payment "for the foreseeable future."
