The Playfulness of eBay and the Implications for Business as a Game-Maker

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to theorize and to illustrate how eBay as a game may both support and undermine playful consumption. In reaching that aim, we argue that business models such as eBay that operate in an experiential economy supplying new games for restless consumers to play may find it hard to sustain their initial success. As internal and external forces transform “playful” behaviors into “professional” ones and as imaginative and autotelic play is rationalized such that its purpose becomes extrinsic, consumer boredom may follow. Conceptually, we make a case for an appraisal of consumption as playful activity, borrowing key concepts from Caillois's sociology derived from play to guide our analysis of recent developments in eBay's business model as well as to flesh out an explanation as to how eBay engages playful consumption. We conclude by commenting on society's preferred play forms for businesses and for consumer culture.