NEW YORK, June 9 -- EBay, the successful auction Web site that was built as a community of members or users, is moving closer to mainstream retailing, with a growing share of items being sold at a fixed price rather than by auction, Newsweek reports in the current issue's cover story. Collectibles, which amounted to two-thirds of the business as recently as January 2000, now are just one-third (although of a much larger whole), and cars had grown from almost nothing to one of the largest categories on the site, Newsweek reports in the June 17 cover story, "The United States of eBay" (on newsstands Monday, June 10).

In addition, large corporations like Motorola, Sears and IBM now sell directly through their own "stores" on eBay's site. "The pie is looking much more like that of a mainstream retailer," Chief Financial Officer Rajiv Dutta tells Newsweek.

In the report, in which Newsweek had unprecedented access to eBay data, San Francisco Bureau Chief Karen Breslau, Technology Correspondent Brad Stone, and Correspondent Julie Scelfo examine how the site has grown and profile members, some who have even made a business out of selling on eBay. In a 24-hour period in May, Newsweek correspondents stayed online at eBay's San Jose headquarters and at computers around the country, monitoring the flow of merchandise. Just over one million auctions were done, with gross merchandise sales of $26,422,255 -- ranging from a $53,100 coin collection down to $.49 for a set of Nascar matchbooks.

Last year, eBay users exchanged some $9.3 billion worth of goods in 18,000 categories which together cover virtually the entire universe of human artifacts -- from Ferraris, Plymouths and Yugos to pocket watches and vintage Barbies. EBay signals the coming of age of post-modern, decentralized, virtual marketing. It's a step, says global marketing chief Bill Cobb, toward the creation of "the first worldwide economic democracy."

Also in the cover package, Technology Editor Steven Levy offers guidance to potential bidders. "EBay's the greatest store on earth and all, but it also lures you into a vortex of object lust, battle fever and post-auction remorse," Levy writes.

Read the online versions of the articles:

• The eBay Way of Life
• Meg Gets on the Line
• How to Play the eBay Game