Is eBay the right comparison? I treat them as different services - Amazon: primarily new products, fixed price, and essentially dealing with one seller (if there's an issue with a Marketplace item, Amazon CS will address it); eBay: mix of new/used products, mix of fixed prices and auctions, primarily dealing with individual sellers.

I think ebay changed a lot. Every time I search something there it's like 90% new stuff from china. On the other hand, amazon has used stuff too. I would really like to see a break down what fraction of the products on ebay are new vs. old, and how much is sold for a fixed price vs. auction.

I also don't think Amazon that unique as a global marketplace. For me, I use AliExpress more than Amazon and both of them don't operate in my country.

> I could easily see that one of the Chinese market places could make a push for the world market and be a serious contender.

Isn't Alibaba trying to do that? (I don't know much about it, but do hear its name every once in a while)