News

In a publicity coup, Elen Lewis, a freelance journalist and author, will be auctioning chapter 7 of Great Brand Stories: eBay (Cyan Books) from 10pm on Sunday, June 25. The auction will run for seven days across the UK and US. She will then travel to meet the winning bidder and write their story in chapter 7. All proceeds of the auction will be donated to the charity Book Aid, which distributes books in the developing world.

"I'm hoping the auction will attract some genuine eBay addicts who are keen to tell their eBay story to a wider audience," Lewis says. "As well as writing a book that delved into the eBay phenomenon, I wanted to use eBay itself as a tool to write the book."

The book explores the success story behind eBay, and is the first to look at the famous online auction website from a brand perspective. "It investiagtes [this] mad, mad souk where shoppers can buy anything from a $6 million Gulfstream jet to a bucket of seawater or a small town in California," Lewis says. The website has developed a phenomenal brand recognition: of its 168 million users (six times the population of Australia), few have met, yet the website flourishes on a level of trust rarely encountered in business ventures nowadays.

Lewis has already written Great Ikea! A brand for all the people (Cyan Books). Great Brand Stories: eBay will be out this autumn.

Emilie Filou