eBay becoming strong presence in home remodeling

DSN Retailing Today, May 9, 2005 by Miek Duff

NEW YORK -- Ebay is expanding its marketplace in an effort to become a service for home remodelers, a strategy that builds on its success as a destination for home furnishings. From doorknobs to Jacuzzis, the offerings are attracting both do-it-yourselfers and building professionals, who are using the online marketplace to find the things they need to restyle homes.

The home furnishings push at eBay, which began about four years ago, has become a major business for the company, said John McDonald, eBay's director of home and garden. Not only does eBay offer a variety of collectables and used goods, it also offers unopened store-brand items, seconds, designer goods, antiques and novelty items.

Home & Garden constitutes its own category on eBay today. The most sought after brands include Ikea, DeWalt, Tupperware, Pier 1 Imports, Craftsman, John Deere, KitchenAid, Ralph Lauren and The Sharper Image. Related online eBay stores include The Sure Fit Slipcover Outlet, Cabinet Hardware Designs, Buy Essex, Specialty Pool Products and Framed Art For A Penny.

Particularly strong home furnishings areas have been bedding and furniture, McDonald said. Citing ACNeilsen data, he said that eBay Home & Garden attracted more unique visitors in March than any other home-related site on the Internet. At any time, 160,000 live listings are posted on the eBay Web site's home decor section. Based on the fourth quarter of 2004, eBay Home & Garden should deliver about $2 billion in annualized gross merchandising volume.

Home furnishings and remodeling together are going strong. "Home remodeling and home furnishings are seeing 38% growth," McDonald noted.

Although home remodeling products have been available on eBay for years, they've really taken off over the past six to nine months, McDonald said.

These days, eBay has an average of 50,000 live listings in the tools category at any time, and more than 16,000 power tools are sold through its auspices each week. Cordless drills, nail guns, circular saws and wrench sets are the hot sellers in tools. Craftsman is a sought-after brand on eBay, as is DeWalt and other popular searches on the site are for Snap-On products and air compressors.

Yet, more than tools are trading hands, and McDonald said that the company is becoming a resource not just for professionals seeking used air compressors but also for serious home do-it-yourselfers. For example, he noted, various home spa and Jacuzzi products, particularly Jacuzzi bathtubs, have become popular eBay products.

Sellers vary widely, and retailers as well as consumers and vendors are working through eBay. Avilla Hardware, a True Value-affiliated store in 2,000-resident-strong Avilla, Ind., began using eBay to dabble in the online marketplace. Today, Avilla is testing a drop-ship capability from 12 regional True Value distribution centers.

Building off its eBay experience, Avilla now does 30% to 35% of its transactions online, said Charlie Casavant, the store's owner, and 70% of that part of the business is through eBay. In the first full year of business, Casavant said he had done $250,000 in online sales, although at a slight loss. He's showing a little profit this year and believes he can double his sales in the foreseeable future.

Overall, he said, and despite eBay fee increases that rankled a bit, he represented his Internet experience as a positive. "It doesn't take a lot of space in my business" Casavant said. "It reaches new business and even generates local business here and there when someone will come into the store asking if I'll sell a piece I have on eBay through the store."