Scott Cutler addresses a crowd of more than 2,000 sellers at this year's eBay Open in Las Vegas.
If there’s one moment that’s stood out to me this year, it was meeting with lawmakers in Washington DC with Ciara Brown, owner of The Diamond Hanger on eBay, to advocate for entrepreneurs and small business owners on Capitol Hill. Side-by-side, we championed policies that would help entrepreneurs like her scale their businesses. It was an incredible honor to work with her to ensure that she had every opportunity to make her American dream possible. As I join our amazing sellers at eBay Open this week, I think about the passion and hard work of this incredible community.
Entrepreneurs like Ciara are at the heart of what makes eBay a unique shopping experience. There’s no other marketplace in the world that has the breadth of products and passionate sellers as eBay. We can offer a full spectrum of value because of this diverse community of sellers.
Where else can you buy a Star Wars action figure of Rey in 2018, Luke Skywalker from 1977 and a piece of the Death Star from the original set of the movie? Our sellers power this immense diversity of selection. And we don’t compete with our sellers -- we partner so that we can win together. It’s at the core of our purpose.
How we're Delivering our Promise
I want our sellers to know, your customers are ours together. The work we do is for all of the small business owners and entrepreneurs that rely on our marketplace. That’s why I’m proud that we’re investing in new features that enhance the shopping experience. Some highlights this year include an AR tool that lets you select shipping boxes, an improved barcode scanner that can create a listing in 10 seconds and an interest-based mobile experience that surfaces a store just for you.
Our commitment to our sellers goes beyond technology. We’re investing in marketing and incentives to drive customers. And we’re continuing to make big investments in customer care, with the goal of addressing issues before they become problems for our sellers.
We’re building an end-to-end experience that prioritizes the delight of discovery and easy checkout. We have an unbiased approach to surfacing inventory, so that shoppers see more of what they love, not what we’re trying to clear off our shelves. And because we don’t own inventory, we don’t undercut our sellers to push our products.
One of the steps we’re taking is improving checkout for our customers. Today, we announced that we will be accepting Apple Pay on the eBay app and mobile web when we begin to manage payments starting in the early fall. We know that in a mobile world, our customers want to make a purchase quickly on their devices. With Apple Pay, they will have one more payment option.
We’re standing behind entrepreneurs with a partnership with Square Capital. Eligible sellers will be able to apply for a financing between $500 and $100,000 to grow their businesses. Scaling a business takes capital to cover an array of costs like staffing, new products and marketing. We want the entrepreneurs using our platform to have the support they need to succeed.
Forging Ahead Together
eBay’s community of sellers inspires me. It’s a community driven by passion. They motivate me to do better every day. But I know greatness takes a collective effort. None of us can do this alone. We’re committed to doing our part.
Our customers have high expectations, and we’re working hard to fulfill our promise to them. One way we do that is by giving our sellers what they need to keep this ecosystem healthy. We’re going to continue to be aggressive with our investments in the right tools and advocacy. We’re continuing to provide insightful information and craft policies to deliver a modern marketplace that will help grow their businesses. We’re going to continue to compete for our customers. And I’m grateful that we’re doing it together.
Editor's Note: This article was originally published on Scott's Linkedin Page. Follow Scott behind the scenes at eBay Open on Instagram.