08/09/2017
eBay`s New `The Entertainment Shop` Set to Dominate the UK`s Physical Media Market
Today, 8th September 2017, eBay have launched their `The Entertainment Shop` - a new specialised category hub which will be selling physical media – books, games, music and films. The filtered, onsite location will hold a wide selection of brand new, second hand and catalogue media for those who like to be able to `hold and touch` their media.
Physical Media Still Popular
Despite the rise in digital media, physical media such as books, music, games and films are still very popular. eBay have revealed that the last year 8 million searches for vinyl records were submitted. It resulted in an average of two physical records being sold every minute in the United Kingdom.
They also said that there was a rise of over 12 million searches for books, magazines or comics last year, 65 million searches for DVD film and TV, and 9 video games and consoles were bought every minute in eBay UK last year.
This shows that there is still a significant market for physical media in the UK.
The new entertainment section/shop
eBay are looking for the new section to dominate physical media sales in the UK. eBay UK`s Vice President, Rob Hattrell explains that their aim is to be s preferred physical media destination in the entire UK, and that the main driving power behind this should come from the best value, seller fees that are more than competitive, and inventory that has no rivals. He remarked that the very first item that has been ever sold via eBay UK - was a CD by the German hard rock band Scorpions, back at the end of the 20th century, for a mere GBP 2.89 and that today the same marketplace offers books, games, film and music from some of the largest suppliers worldwide. Launching the Entertainment Shop came as a natural evolution for eBay, and it will allow businesses regardless of their size - to offer their physical media to the UK market which has shown some remarkable endurance in demand for such items.
eBay are placing an emphasis on new releases and have already forged partnerships with some major studios to facilitate this. Other retailers of books, DVD, Blue-rays, CDs and video games, such as Wordery, musicMagpie, Entertainment Alliance, and have also pledged to enhance their offers to match eBay`s The Entertainment Shop.
eBay
eBay has 23 million users in the UK, and they plan to make these all open to publishers, wholesalers, producers and B2C through low cost listings, attractive marketplace fees, good advertising opportunities and a great user experience to help them to grow their business.
This latest move by eBay is a great opportunity for not just eBay, but also buyers and sellers of physical media who should be able to buy and sell with ease and with an improved experience.