eBay looks like a platform that is at least an order of magnitude simpler: No realtime data streams like GPS updates, no matching algorithms, no demand-based pricing or incentives, no ETA calculations. Uber is operating in the real world which means that weather, traffic, protests, construction, events and so on affect the operation.
The eBay business requires no boots on the ground, Uber Eats does because they have to equip riders. And eBay has almost no market-specific laws/regulations which change every couple of months to worry about.
I think eBay doesn't process payments, that is outsourced to PayPal.
It looks like eBay is in about 25 markets, Uber is available in 85 countries.
Serious question: Why does eBay have so many employees? It's just a search engine for a user generated product catalog where users can place bids on the items. My guess is that most Uber employees aren't high-paid developers, it is more likely that they are in support roles.
eBay can get away with relying on third parties for advertising, selling, and transporting goods. They are just an online marketplace.
Uber has to market themselves which needs local expertise, if nothing else to liaise with a local PR firm. Then they need local legal expertise to actually operate in the country (eBay transactions happen online, and the transport agency hired by the seller figures out how to get the package to its destination). Uber then has to have maps for every country it operates in, as well as change their standards to match local expectations.
eBay is arguably a bad example because they sure could do with a proper overhaul of their software that is halfway modenised with a bunch of rough edges accumulated over decades.
The eBay business requires no boots on the ground, Uber Eats does because they have to equip riders. And eBay has almost no market-specific laws/regulations which change every couple of months to worry about.
I think eBay doesn't process payments, that is outsourced to PayPal.
It looks like eBay is in about 25 markets, Uber is available in 85 countries.
Serious question: Why does eBay have so many employees? It's just a search engine for a user generated product catalog where users can place bids on the items. My guess is that most Uber employees aren't high-paid developers, it is more likely that they are in support roles.