Online auction and shopping site eBay.com is committed to further connect Filipino e-commerce to the global market through the enhancement of features and functionality introduced last year and with the promotion of transaction safety in its local site eBay.ph.

To achieve this goal, eBay Inc.’s vice president Dan Neary points out the importance of building the community’s reputation.

“We encouraged traders to view and write feedback before and after a transaction to help millions of other buyers in their next online deal,” Neary says.

“We believe trust is fundamental in a marketplace—even if we have over 2,000 people to assure market security and safety.”

 And this guarantee extends to selling counterfeit or cloned products.

“EBay refuses to profit from fake products,” he says. “If a buyer got fraudulent goods, chances are, they’re gonna lose every confidence in everything that we have. We don’t want to associate ourselves with high degrees of fraud. We remove it from the listing and work with law-enforcement agencies around the world.”

The leading online shopping destination in the country is also hoping that PayPal, an online-payment and money-transfer company that is also owned by eBay Inc., will also find acceptance in the Philippines as it provides an additional and safe alternative to the usual payment methods such as cash on delivery, bank-to-bank transactions and even mobile-commerce services like GCash. Despite the rise of e-commerce, many consumers are still skeptical of using credit cards for Web shopping in light of issues such as phishing and identity theft.

With PayPal, Neary says, buyers are more protected, especially in cases wherein they do not receive the goods they’ve ordered or if the product isn’t exactly what had been posted.

“If a fraudulent transaction exists, we take the money from the PayPal account and we give it back to the buyer,” Neary explains. “However, it is not yet in full force in the Philippines because of regulatory issues.”

EBay members who have PayPal accounts in the Philippines—along with those in Malaysia, India and Indonesia—are currently unable to complete withdrawals through their credit, debit or prepaid cards because of exchange-rate issues and policies. Neary reports that eBay is now working on a resolution with financial institutions and regulators.

There are an estimated 21 million Internet users in the Philippines, and e-commerce is expected to grow 21 percent per year between 2008 and 2010, according to the IDC Internet Commerce Market Model, Version 11.1.

In a June 2006 survey conducted by AC Nielsen International Research, there are approximately 1.3 million sellers around the world who use eBay as their primary or secondary source of income—including 3,000 Filipinos. From the same study, it was found out that there are 6,671 Filipinos who sell their items on the site to supplement their incomes.

Among the top categories on eBay.ph are toys, watches and cell phones. It has been estimated that Filipinos buy a watch every 15 minutes and three cell phones every hour from the site.

As such, Neary is confident eBay.ph’s dominance will continue this year despite the increasing number of local competitors, given eBay’s huge lead, as verified by the Web information company Alexa.

Art of investment

A group of Spanish journalists were huddling around the president and general manager of the Government Service Insurance System, Winston Garcia, just days after having officially launched the landmark $1-billion global investment program.

Online shopping

Online auction and shopping site eBay.com is committed to further connect Filipino e-commerce to the global market through the enhancement of features and functionality introduced last year and with the promotion of transaction safety in its local site eBay.ph.

Winning: This silly season

Q: With the presidential candidates ranting and raving about corporate greed—all the while feeding at the trough—shouldn’t members of the business community be doing a better PR job explaining the basics of capitalism? --Charlie Porten, Weston, Connecticut

Capitalism in an apocalyptic mood

An apocalyptic mood has seized the highest levels of global capital as the global financial system continues to implode. This implosion is but the latest financial crisis to wrack global capitalism. 

Upgrading standards

IRWIN C. Nidea Jr. sought occasions by which he could express himself.

But as a tax lawyer of one of the four largest accounting firms in the Philippines, his venues for self-expression were limited.

How can I do a better job of managing up?

The first step in effectively managing up is accepting that every decision in your company is made by the person who has the power to make that decision, even if he or she is not necessarily the right person or the best person to make that decision.

My blackberry ate my accountability

No sooner is a new tool invented than someone cooks up an off-label use. Sometimes an off-label application improves on the initially conceived one.

Zooming ahead

After his early retirement as the senior vice president for integrated sales and marketing of ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp., Nicanor Gabunada Jr. is back in marketing as the president and chief executive officer of ZOOmms, a company that is pushing mobile marketing in the country.

Winning: Getting lean in lean times

Q: How do you effectively maintain service levels when you’re headed into a recession? Rob Chiuch, Toronto, Canada

Sterling achievement

Organizing and building a lender from scratch is the wish of any banker. And if he or she is given that chance, most likely a banker will not waste a second in grabbing that golden opportunity.

Tradition in Peril

Much has been said and written about the majestic Eighth Wonder of the World, described also as “stairways to heaven.” But there is more to appreciate in Ifugao than just the terraces. Safeguarding the spectacular rice terraces of the Philippines begins with preserving the culture of those who created them.

Staying with no

No one likes hearing “No,” and few can resist pushing back—sometimes quite persistently. Roger Fisher, negotiation expert and coauthor of the widely influential book ‘Getting to Yes’, used to tell his law students that sometimes he wished he had written a book about getting to no and staying there.

Understanding opposition

Top executives are good at competing, but when they come up against opposition rather than competition, they flounder. The problem is getting worse because, for a variety of reasons, businesses face better organized and more vocal opponents than ever before.

Born to be a hotelier

Even at a young age, Arthur G. Gindap, country general manager of Ascott International in the Philippines, had already decided to work in the hospitality industry when the time comes.

Winning: Money talks!

Q: Bonus time just came and went at my company, and once again I got less than I expected, especially considering my performance review. Do I say something to my boss, or just accept the fact that companies will always try to give you as little money as possible? Name Withheld, Valparaiso, California 

On Valentine’s Day, the cut-flower industry is blossoming

February 14 is Valentine’s Day, when many people look to flowers to express their love and affection.

Roses, daisies, chrysanthemums, poinsettias, gladioli, carnations, lilies—they all mean the same thing: Thinking of you.

From where he sits: Encounter with Joma

Sometime in January, BusinessMirror special correspondent Imelda V. Abaño, who attended an international water conference in the Netherlands, sought and got an appointment with Jose Maria Sison, exiled communist leader based in Utrecht.

LEARNING THE FINE ART OF GLOBAL COLLABORATION

Companies that excel in using partnerships to innovate are known for doing many things well. For example, they figure out how collaboration can improve the top line as well as the bottom line and they organize themselves to work effectively with partners.

HOW TO TALK TO INVESTORS–THROUGH THE PRESS

Managers in public companies frequently underestimate—at their peril—the function of the press in their financial communications. Wharton’s Brian J. Bushee and I collected data on more than 200 firms traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market or other over-the-counter markets and found that most small and midcap companies have trouble obtaining coverage from analysts.

A different path

Doing infrastructure projects in a developing country like the Philippines requires a different strategy to ensure the affected stakeholders can absorb the impact. Contractors have to walk the extra mile and be innovative in their approach to minimize the impact of the project and ultimately develop a win-win situation for both parties.

Full-metal hardcore

The year 1997 was the worst of times, but one of the best of times for Philippine creative advertising.

Winning: Managing the Risks of Rogues

Q: What do you make of Jerome Kerviel, the trader who just lost $7 billion for Société Générale with his secret dealings? Jorge Gonzalez Henrichsen, Mexico City

Homecourt advantage

When property consulting giant CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) tapped Rick M. Santos to put up its Philippines office in 1995, he was sure from the start he would have a great time back at his birthplace because he knew he could make a difference.

Faithful but creative

CHIEF Justice Reynato Puno has managed to keep politics out of the Judiciary’s business despite making bold actions and strong pronouncements on various issues like the rampaging extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances in the country, the need to protect the integrity of the election process and the measly budget allotted to the Judiciary.

Task, Not Time: Profile of a Gen Y Job

Jobs have long been structured primarily around units of time—a 40-hour workweek, an eight-hour day. The time you spend—or are supposed to spend—determines whether you are working full or part time, with implications for compensation and other benefits.

How to Set Expectations with Young Talent

When I received my first project assignment as a new hire at Gemini Consulting (now Capgemini), I was quite unhappy. My peers were assigned to the high-profile financial services and telecommunications industries, whereas I was “stuck” with a client in publishing.

How Asian ad agencies are reinventing themselves

Before the Asian financial meltdown in 1997, when marketers were generous and clients made ostentatious display of advertising wealth, we heard so much about phrases like “paradigm shift,” “consumer insight,” “gut-feel,” “brand persona” and many others.

Winning: In business and politics, leadership is key

Q: What characteristics would you say are the most important when choosing a company CEO or the leader of a country? Simplicio D. Victoria, Los Angeles