“Mpire Mpulse” Debuts as New Hub for eBay Sales Buzz

SEATTLE, WASH. (PRWEB) February 24, 2006

The eBay® community now has an entertaining and informative new resource to monitor up-to-the-minute listing trends for top items, ranging from iPods and Xboxes, to Star Wars collectibles and current event memorabilia. Mpire™ Mpulse (http://www.mpire.com) is a new destination website launched today by Mpire™, a provider of web-based services that dramatically simplify the way small businesses sell online, which shows at-a-glance “top seller” data to eBay buyers and sellers. Powered by Mpire™ Researcher, the company’s new free eBay research service, the information provided by Mpulse can help lead to better listing and purchasing decisions, or simply provide amusement while browsing buzz-worthy content for buying and selling inspiration.

“Savvy eBay users know that research is a crucial component of being a successful buyer or seller and in just the first 45 days, Researcher has become a must-have tool for the eBay community, with many thousands becoming regular users,” said Dave Cotter, CEO of Mpire. “With Mpulse, the eBay community has a new site for practical, easy-to-digest information on top sales trends, whether fueled by hot items or upcoming events like sports games or Hollywood’s award season. Not only do Mpulse visitors take away key data for smart transactions, but it’s also just fun to see which products are most in demand on how they perform against similar items.”

Mpulse boasts an interactive layout featuring detailed sales data from Mpire Researcher, a free online tool that instantly shows listing recommendations – such as average start and end price, auction style and duration – for any item based on the most recent top selling listings for that same item. Mpulse will feature continuously updated content so visitors can keep pace with the most sought-after listings. The debut site categories and statistics include:

•      iPods: With Nano, Mini and Video taking three of the top ten slots for eBay top searches, iPods remain an online auction favorite with sales fueled by all models of the gadget as well as its accessories. The original iPod has the most listings, with more than 12,000 currently for sale on eBay, and Mpulse shows it sells for an average top price of more than $156 dollars; those listed for seven days in auction style yield the most money. And when it comes to the colors of iPod, go black, not blue. Black iPods take top spot on number of items and rank very high on average price ($253.20) and percent sold (81%) while blue iPods sell only 57% of the time and get just over $167.
•      Academy Awards: Oscar buzz abounds online, so who is coming out on top in terms of eBay sales? Mpulse shows Brokeback Mountain is stealing the show when it comes to memorabilia – it has the most listed items of all the Best Picture contenders, with an average selling price of nearly $135 per item. Wondering who the hottest cowboy is? Best Supporting Actor nominee Jake Gyllenhaal tops Best Actor nominee Heath Ledger for number of top items and the percent of items that sell successful. Even if he does have to play second fiddle on eBay to his co-star, Heath Ledger is leading the Best Actor category as measured by Researcher’s eBay sales data, while Joaquin Phoenix comes in a close second. And what does Mpire Researcher show as the hottest non-nominated movie based on eBay sales? Star Wars Revenge of the Sith takes that prize running away, with Wedding Crashers a distant second choice.
•      Olympics: With the winter games in full swing, Mpire joins the action with coverage of the hottest stuff this side of Torino. With tickets topping $500 and hockey jerseys scoring a cool $100+, Mpulse shows how eBay users are taking a piece of the Olympic spirit with them.

Close on the heels of the initial Mpulse categories listed above, later this month the site will feature information for two of the most popularly traded products on eBay – Star Wars merchandise and Xbox consoles, both of which consistently rank in the top ten most popular searches on eBay. Details include:

•      Star Wars (coming soon): Mpire will strike a chord with intergalactic fans on eBay, as Mpulse shows which characters are most popular on eBay. Researcher currently shows that Darth Vader has the most listed items of all with 1600, but Yoda is also a fan favorite at more than 900 memorabilia listings. Further proof that “good” doesn’t always win over evil – the Mace Windu Lightsaber has a top average selling price of just over $100, while the Darth Maul Lightsaber goes for $130 each.
•      Xbox (coming soon): Microsoft’s game console piques the curiosity of both eBay buyers and sellers, and Mpulse shows that sales are not slowing down. The most coveted model is the new Xbox 360, with a current top average sales price of nearly $495 according to Researcher.

With the addition of Mpulse and Researcher, Mpire continues to grow its robust line of practical online selling solutions that also includes Mpire™ Launcher and Mpire™ Builder. Launcher is a free listing tool that includes templates and image hosting to make it easier for anyone to list online, while Builder offers end-to-end auction management for dedicated eBay sellers. Now available for a free 30 day trial, Builder provides powerful business management tools that integrate with eBay, PayPal, and other resources to provide automated auction management, intuitive financial tracking and reporting, customer contact management and consignment management, inventory tracking and more. In addition, Mpire also offers a robust Online Business Resource Center and hosts free monthly eBay educational tele-courses. For more information, visit http://www.mpire.com.

About Mpire

Mpire is committed to empowering millions of people to run their own online business. Mpire’s complete, easy-to use services dramatically simplify how online business owners manage all aspects of their business activities, making online sellers more successful. Mpire’s web-based suite of free and affordable flat-rate subscription services seamlessly integrate all the tools an online seller needs to better track, manage and successfully operate their business. Mpire’s services include Mpire™ Builder, a complete end-to-end auction management service, Mpire™ Researcher, a free tool that shows average selling prices and listing recommendations for top listed items, and Mpire™ Launcher, a free listing service. Together, Mpire’s services save business owners valuable time and provide them with powerful management insights, allowing them to make more informed decisions and concentrate on growing their business. Founded in 2005, Mpire is backed by Ignition Partners and former eBay executive Richard Rock. Visit http://www.mpire.com for more information.

Editor’s Note: Data provided in this release is provided solely through the Mpire Researcher tool and Mpire’s independent analysis of current eBay listings, and is not provided directly from eBay officials. As statistics are subject to change as sales close, please contact Amanda Foley at 206.957.1387 for the most recent and accurate data.

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