AMERICAN multinational e-commerce corporation eBay Inc. revealed a strong demand for certain products that are exported worldwide by the Philippines and its Southeast Asian peers.
“Southeast Asia [SEA] has been one of the regions, which offers uniquely sought-after items to eBay buyers across the globe, and we are seeing significant opportunities for SEA SMEs [small and medium enterprises] to start their export businesses on eBay and sell in-demand products,” Vidmay Naini, country manager of eBay in Southeast Asia and India, was quoted in a statement as saying. Naini issued the statement after the company reported that “annual active buyers declined by 9 percent, for a total of 147 million global active buyers.”
“Annual active sellers declined by 8 percent, for a total of 17 million global active sellers,” the company said in its financial results for its fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2021.
eBay in Southeast Asia noted that pre-loved luxury watches from the Philippines and its neighboring countries Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, are most-sought items among buyers from the United States (US).
In 2021, sales of watches with an average selling price in excess of $2,000 increased by 62 percent year-on-year. The top 10 popular pre-owned watch brands were: Rolex, Omega, Cartier, Breitling, Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Tudor, Chopard, Tag Heuer and Seiko.
Apart from such accessories, eBay’s trading cards segment is growing significantly in the region faster than the overall marketplace. The best-selling brands were Pokémon, Magic the Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Basketball, Soccer, American Football, Baseball and Tennis. Collectible cards enthusiasts throughout the region have been profiting from this trend as buyers turn their hobbies into an alternative investment.
“Our trading cards business has been growing for the past six years, and the recent surge speaks to the immense cultural significance of the category,” Naini was quoted in a statement issued last February.”
“When we look at the sales growth from our Southeast Asia region, we found that the category of collectible cards exported by Southeast Asian sellers via eBay has been growing in the double digits,” he added.
For several years, the region has become a manufacturing hub for motorcycle and car manufacturers, thus, automotive parts and accessories remain one of the best-selling products in this marketplace.
From 2019 to 2021, eBay saw a significant hike at 39 percent in compound annual growth rate in motorcycle parts exported from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand to international destinations, including the US and Australia. The top five models of vehicle parts they exported to Australia were Toyota Hilux, Ford Ranger, Nissan Navara, Isuzu D-Max and Mitsubishi Triton.
Naini added the increasing popularity of furniture exported from Malaysia to the US, while gemstones and jewelry from Indonesia and Thailand are in-demand in the US and Europe.
“Products such as gemstones and jewelry are always sought-after on eBay as there are frequent buyers who are retailers in foreign countries as well as consumers,” he said.
According to him, businesses of all sizes in Southeast Asia have a huge potential to expand their trade on their global marketplace, with over 147 million buyers from 190 countries.
The American e-commerce giant is committed to continuously support the region’s SMEs in their export journey.
“We have built a dynamic Southeast Asia team to bolster the retail exports ecosystem in the region and support eBay seller growth as we roll out campaigns within the year,” Naini said.
He vowed the company will continue to help new Southeast Asian SMEs grow their businesses online.
“eBay in Southeast Asia is focused on enabling the entrepreneurial capabilities of our sellers, by developing programs to help sellers maximize their export opportunities,” he said.