FutureShop: How the New Auction Culture Will Revolutionize the Way We Buy, Sell, and Get the Things We Really Want
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A bold forecast of how the coming "auction culture" revolution will radically transform what, how, and why we buy.FutureShopFrom Main Street to the upper echelons of society, we are beginning to accept and will soon vigorously adopt a new lifestyle, one predicated on the norm of temporary ownership and marked by the continuous replacement of our personal possessions. Owning and selling things secondhand will become second nature. I like to think of this practice as "auction culture," because it's the auction platform that has so far been the catalyst. But whatever label ultimately sticks, this transition will have a profound impact on our culture and values. The critical inflection point is upon us. As eBay approaches new levels of depth and breadth, it is beginning to create a new ecosystem that will rapidly accelerate the liquidity of the consumer-to-consumer marketplace, making it easier for mainstream society to access it. The multitude of valuable services created by freshly minted start-ups feeding on this ecosystem will fuel a new level of buying and selling activity at a higher rate than we've seen before. It will ripple throughout the global economy. This shift will redefine socially accepted norms for consumer buying and selling behavior. We will soon live in a world where the norm is to sell our iPods after using them for a year. Or to sell our $800 Jimmy Choo shoes after wearing them twice. Cell phone companies will automatically send us the newest, most high-tech mobile phone every six months. We'll essentially be leasing Rolex watches instead of buying them.
Introduction11Primitive Values: The Accumulation Nation152Secondhand Nation: Minding the Liquidity Gap373Auction Fever: Catalyst for a Cultural Revolution574True Liquidity: Creating a Perfect Market775Future Value: Embracing the Auction Culture1036For the Good of All: The Net Effect1317To Fight or not to Fight: Corporate Responses to Change1558Setting a Course: Winning Business Strategies1819The Evolution of a New Ecosystem: Tomorrow's Opportunities209A Note on the Data229Acknowledgments231Selected References233Index235
