Chapter 1273 – One Month
Ma Yun had launched Taobao earlier in this life, and it’s because of Feng Yu’s suggestion. Another reason is that China has a big C2C internet company and is afraid it will lose out.
This C2C internet company is called eBay Yi Qu. It is started by Chinese Harvard graduates and invested by eBay.
Last month, eBay had acquired most of eBay Yi Qu’s shares from the two founders and became the company’s controlling shareholder.
Other than the two founders, who are holding on to some shares, another new shareholder, Sina. Early in 2000, Sina had allied with Yi Qu to promote each other’s products.
But Wang Zhixi is very smart. He invested in Yi Qu but rejected Yi Qu’s suggestion to exchange shares. He does not want his Sina shares to be diluted further as Sina is his main business in the future.
When eBay got the controlling stake in eBay Yi Qu, Ma Yun is afraid he will lose the market share. So, he quickly develops his C2C platform.
Of course, Ma Yun firmly believes his company has better customer service, zero-commissions, and the company’s financial status can defeat eBay Yi Qu.
Ma Yun knows the controlling shareholder of eBay is Feng Yu’s good friend, Kirilenko.
Feng Yu does not know eBay had acquired Yi Qu. But even if he knows, he will not stop this acquisition as eBay belongs to Kirilenko and doesn’t need to snatch with him. another reason is Feng Yu also believes the Taobao model will emerge as the winner in the end. eBay Yi Qu’s operating model is too ordinary.
eBay Yi Qu is charging its sellers’ high fees and their main payment software is Paypal and Alipay. But Paypal also has charged.
Both parties’ business does not have conflicts, as eBay Yi Qu is auction-based, and Taobao is selling products. But in the future, both will test all sorts of operating models.
Many people discussed which operating model is more successful. eBay Yi Qu’s operating model was successful in other countries, but Taobao’s model is still unknown and burns money too fast.
eBay Yi Qu’s biggest advantage is they are connected to overseas eBay. Their users can trade with overseas users, and eBay has more than 100 million registered users overseas.
In China, they have more than 3 million registered users and are leading Taobao by a lot.
This is the reason why Ma Yun decides to waive off the sellers’ charges. Feng Yu remembers that Taobao only starts charging their sellers after Tmall is introduced. This is also because they want to get rid of those sellers selling counterfeit products.
Anyway, Taobao does not need to depend on these charges unless the seller opts to be featured as a Taobao bestseller. This service is not cheap, and other sellers are completely free.
…….
“Manager Ma, you are going all out this time.” Wang Zhixi joked.
“That’s because of eBay Yi Qu. But I will not reveal any more things to you. Sina is a shareholder of eBay Yi Qu, right?” Ma Yun replied.
“Hahaha… how much can I make from that little shares? Also, Sina and Alibaba are alliance now.” Wang Zhixi is not very concerned about all these.
Wang Zhixi had invested in Yi Qu in the past is because he wanted an additional revenue stream. But he did not expect eBay Yi Qu to be successful. If he had agreed to eBay’s acquisition terms, he could make a lot more money.
But after some considerations, Wang Zhixi decided to keep his shares as he allowing users to trade with overseas users who have high potential.
“Manager Ma, you are going to lose money for three years. Are you going to waive all commissions?” Ding Lei asked curiously.
“We will be collecting deposits to prevent the sellers from scamming the consumers, and we will not be collecting all other charges. If the sellers want to advertise their shops or opt-in for the bestselling shop services in the future, they must pay for it. But I guarantee it will be worth their money.
Zhong Qingxian smiled. “This move of yours is giving eBay Yi Qu a warning. I think all those small businesses or individuals who want to sell their products online will choose Taobao in the future.”
Small businesses and individuals did not have much startup capital when they started, or else they would have set up a shop. At Taobao, they only need to pay a deposit, and after they decided to shut down their business, they can get the deposit back. eBay Yi Qu charged the sellers commissions, and the payment system, Paypal, also charges its users.
Taobao had lowered the barriers for the sellers, and this is their biggest advantage.
“You all don’t need to compete with each other. It will be better if both companies can merge. The biggest shareholder of eBay is that Russian Tycoon, right? He is Manager Feng’s good friend, and Alipay is jointly developed with them.” Zhang Chaoyang said.
“Merge? Who will be the one in charge if we merge? eBay is financially stronger, but Alibaba Group has bigger potential than them.” Ma Yun insisted.
“Potential? They already have more than 3 million registered users, and it is still increasing. You all still do not have any users yet. Furthermore, their website had been ready and running much earlier. Your website is just set up and is still undergoing the testing phase.”
“Also, without users, it will be useless for people to sell their products on your platform. You all might have an advantage in attracting sellers, but are you sure you can be better than eBay Yi Qu in attracting buyers?” Pony Ma asked.
“We have considered this problem, and that’s why I invited all of you here. We want to ally with you all and hope you all can help us promote Taobao. I believe with everyone’s help, our Taobao can grow much faster.”
“Also, we are developing an instant messaging software for our website. It is currently named Ali Wang Wang, and it will be more convenient for buyers to communicate with the sellers. This way, the sellers can provide better services.”
Pony Ma frowned when he heard this. “Why can’t Alibaba use our QQ?”
Ding Lei added. “You all can also use our Bubbles too.”
Ma Yun smiled and shook his head. “We need to protect our customers’ privacy, and developing our chat software is better. We are not using this messaging software for people to chat and make friends. This is mainly used for sellers and buyers to communicate. That’s why we are not competing with you two. The ones who use our product can still use your products.”
“Manager Ma, since you are so confident, how long do you foresee Taobao users exceeding eBay Yi Qu?” Ding Lei asked jokingly.
Ma Yun confidently replied. “One month!”
