Although eBay stopped allowing the sale of digital goods last year, the auction site has partnered with an Australian music company to allow users to buy and stream music.
In March 2008, products in digital form—including eBooks, MP3 files and PDFs—were banned from auctions and fixed-priced listings. The reason behind the decision was concern about feedback manipulation.
Now eBay Australia has teamed up with Universal Music Australia to offer customers a music site. Downloads are offered through getmusic.com.au, Universal's music platform, for $1.59 per song or for $15.99 per album.
The deal appears to be a way for eBay to theoretically increase inventory on its site by linking up to an outside vendor.
"Music is one of the highest searched topics on the Web, and the opportunity to help eBay.com.au connect their members with their favorite acts is without precedent," notes George Ash, the managing director of Universal Music Australia.
Though the music site is hosted on eBay Australia, customers are redirected to Universal Music's Web site when they want to listen to tracks or make purchases. There, customers can browse through thousands of songs from pop and rock to jazz and classical.
Ash says he expects the site to get a lot of traffic, considering that 5 million people visit eBay Australia every month.
The partnership was "a match made in heaven," he adds.
On the Music category page, traditional music category items now appear next to the portal linking visitors to the music site. In order to buy a download through the portal, buyers are required to open an account on getmusic.com. Payment options include MasterCard, Visa, PayPal and voucher. With the exception of PayPal transactions, the entire purchasing process takes place on getmusic.com.
In its General Announcements, eBay officials say they "believe the ability to access digitally downloaded music via eBay will enhance the buyer experience and keep buyers coming back to eBay."
Auctiva staff writers constantly monitor trends and best practices of those selling on eBay and elsewhere online. They attend relevant training seminars and trade shows and regularly discuss the market with PowerSellers and other market experts.
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