Ebay News & Reviews

AOL"s acquisition of Bebo & why Ebay should stay clear

2008-03-13T16:59:00.002-04:00

It was announced today that AOL was acquiring social networking site Bebo for $850 million. Know many in the United States have probably never heard of Bebo and if they have it is far far behind Facebook & Myspace. Perhaps AOL's purchase of Bebo was a prelude to being acquired by Google. After all Google has their own social site Orkut that lags very far behind as well and would love nothing more than to combine the two.

There have been rumors circulating that AOL & Ebay would be a very good fit. My personal thoughts would be that the union would be a disaster. AOL has been plagued with problems since their merger with Time Warner. AOL has been on an acquisition phase for the past several years. However their acquisitions has seen Time Warner price continue to plummet. TWX closed today at the very low price of $14.51 share.

Why would Ebay even want to attempt to combine with AOL. The legal headaches would be huge and would take Ebay away from their core business. Ebay has the capabilities to build a huge social site, however thus far they have lost their creativity. They can combine Stumbleupon with Skype and Rent.com and built their own community. They can even have a contest to come up with a really catchy name.

It boggles the mind why Ebay hasn't build a search engine to date. You can search for videos on stumbleupon, you can search for things on Skype. Why not come up with something, anything that searches the entire Net? Why not build a dating site similiar to Eharmony. It can be called Eheart for all those lonely Ebay sellers and buyers and can utilize Skype's video features. How about a feedback system for dating. I can see it know, this person has three negatives or if this person has 20 positives why is he/she still single?

Please get with the innovative program Ebay and get those brain waves humming. Why is it up to me to continue to submit my brilliant ideas? After all you are not paying me a penny but yet reward the majority of your employees with lucrative options and salary.

So the morale is stay away from AOL, after all Bugs Bunny and the other characters were flying high near $70 to $100 per share before they ran into the AOL truck that was out of control.

Part 2. A Solution for eBay and Its Frustrated Seller Community

2008-03-11T09:41:00.001-04:00

I seemed to elicit quite a angry response to my first article titled "A Solution for Ebay & their Frustrated Seller Community. Through various articles, boycotts etc, the concensus seems to be that sellers are fed up with Ebay and are leaving in droves.

I simply suggested a link which would allow them to fulfill their request. Notice these frustrated sellers are always approaching Ebay with angry comments and threats. It reminds me of all of the so called celebrities; George Clooney, Susan Sarandon, etc who promised to leave the country if George Bush was elected President. However they are still here to this day. They had eight years to leave the country. Why haven't they left? Because they realize that there is no better country out there. The same can be said for Ebay. For example so many people chimed in and left comments to my article. However if these people have already left Ebay and are finished doing business with Ebay why are they still leaving comments about Ebay.

Enough is enough already. For example I love Sports however the ticket prices have gone through the roof; thus I do not attend any games. I have the freedom not to attend the sports venue; thus I do not which is a very simple logical way to look at the situation. I have been selling on Ebay since inception and Channel Advisor, formerly auction rover recently announced that they were doing away with my lifetime membership fee of $120 per year. If I remain with Channel Advisor I would have to pay $29.95 per month. How is that for price gouging?

This move barely created a stir in the Ebay community. This is ironic as Scott Wingo, CEO of Channel Advisor is always lambasting Ebay for their price increases. Think about it, an increase from $10 per month (supposedly guaranteed for life) to $29.95 per month for basically the same service. Can you guess what I am going to do? I am going to Leave Channel Advisor. I will not whine and whine for months on end

For those who stated I have no clue about Ebay; I have been a seller on Ebay longer than if not equal than you. Ebay did use to use billpoint and it flopped as most buyers and sellers where using Paypal. Thus by acquiring Paypal Ebay made it easier for buyers and sellers. Ebay had purchased Kruse International and Butterfields and Butterfields. Both companies flopped with sellers thus Ebay sold them for a loss.

The huge majority of the buyers and sellers I have met on Ebay have been wonderful. As for the law of averages you will always have one or two out of 500 that cannot be satisfied no matter how hard you try. Additionally the post office will always wind up losing at least three out of 200 of your packages once a year. However the majority of people understand problems that cannot be controlled. Thus buyers will not hold sellers hostage with any new feedback rating system. If you are a deceptive seller and charge $15 or more for domestic postage under one pound or sell inferior products than of course you are going to be upset. After all no one hates the authority more than the criminal element. For those of us who are honest sellers the feedback system will not effect us and only make the Ebay community continue to grow.

I only encountered what was fraud once on the site since inception and Ebay went out of their way to help me. Thus from the so called stories people tell about frustrated customer service you are probably contacting the wrong people to being with.

Regarding the price increases.the higher your item sells for the more you make and the more Ebay makes. For example a famous actress once e-mailed me and asked me to sell her an old deck of playing cards she was planning to throw away. These cards went on to sell for over $300 dollars on Ebay. Thus this actress was expecting zero dollars. She wound up selling her cards for $300 dollars. So from an angry sellers comments Ebay took a percentage of her $300 dollars. However if it wasn't for Ebay she would have made 0 dollars.

Ebay has also pumped most of their funds into making their site and paypal safe. Try going to another site and see how safe they truly are? If you really left, you may get fleeced and wish you were back at Ebay.

A company has to increase fees in order to enhance and make the site better than ever. Again this is a free country if you don't like Ebay leave already and quit whining. What hubris, to think that you are all irreplacable. The minute you leave there is someone to take your place. If you put as much effort into your constant whining as you do into your business you would be a success.

Thus for the final time, for those sellers who issue threats and vile comments. please stop whining and leave already. That will give sellers like myself and others who have pride in Ebay your business(if we are to believe you contributed any). For it is common logic that most whiners contribute the least and are a deterrent to morale Just look at the NFL Football New York Giants, the year that Tiki Barber, their biggest whiner left, they won the Super Bowl.

Part 1. A Solution for eBay and Its Frustrated Seller Community

2008-03-11T09:39:00.000-04:00

Not a day passes by without word spreading of another eBay seller boycott. If you were truly to believe each seller, eBay (EBAY) is the most evil of all companies. There is never a word of praise for the company that made them what they are today. Before eBay existed, these sellers were likely selling their wares at various markets throughout the United States. Yes, they would freeze on cold days and sizzle on those days that were scorchers. If they sold their wares through trade shows, etc, they would pay steep fees. Then along came eBay and turned them all into instant business gurus. The sellers started to whine with each seller increase, albeit it a few cents there a few cents here. These sellers lambasted eBay. "How dare such a company take food from our table" was their common mantra. Little did they see the improvements on the site.

For example, eBay purchased PayPal, which made it easier for buyers to pay with credit cards and thus these buyers made more purchases. eBay purchased Shopping.com to draw more eyes toward eBay's seller's wares. eBay even started up a free classified listing sites in the U.S. called Kijiji for all of those sellers who would like to list for free. Yet all these moves are still not enough. eBay announced earlier this year that they were going to reduce fees, but the sellers are still not satisfied. It has reached a point that these sellers will always whine and complain.

I have come up with a simple solution that will make both the seller community and eBay happy. eBay can post a link on their website with the following info: "For all of those sellers who are upset with eBay, please click on this link and complete the following to be removed permanently from our site. We understand the difficulty you are experiencing. We tried to satisfy your needs to no avail. If after leaving the site you continue to harass us through vile messages, threats etc, a restraining order will be put into place. If you have had a change of heart and decide to come back, you would have to go through an appeal process that may take up to two years. We understand your complaints and are satisfying your request."

There you have it. Simple, indeed. A way to satisfy both eBay and the sellers.

Did you know that Channel Advisor did away with their lifetime guarantee of 120 per year to subscribers of their service and are forcing their loyal subscribers to pay $29.95 per month? How is that for price gouging? How about your local gym membership charging $200 extra per year to sign up? Have the prices in your local supermarket changed this year? How about your transportation costs? Movie tickets? Sports Venues? If you are a whiny eBay seller, put all of those costs into perspective and you will see how ridiculous your complaints truly are.

I have been a seller on eBay since its inception and have never complained about a fee increase since I realize eBay is still and will always be the #1 place for e-commerce. Period.

Sony to Add Skype in March

2008-03-04T08:14:00.001-05:00

TOKYO (Reuters) - Sony Corp said it would add a Skype Web phone function to its PlayStation Portable later this month in Japan in a bid to boost the appeal of the handheld machine, which is running behind Nintendo Co Ltd's DS in sales.

Skype is a unit of eBay Inc, the world's largest online auctioneer.

Sony's game unit had said in January it was delaying the introduction later that month of the Skype service for PSP users in Japan, as a microphone it planned to start selling for the new service did not meet Skype specifications.

But the same microphone has managed to pass the Skype requirements on condition that it is sold with the recommendation that it be used within 10 centimeters of the mouth of a user.

Sony Computer Entertainment now plans to start selling the microphone on March 19 in Japan for 2,500 yen ($24), enabling PSP users to make free Web-based phone calls to other PSP users and to users of PCs equipped with Skype software.

It started offering the Skype service on the PSP earlier this year in overseas markets.

Oprah Skype and Reuters News

2008-03-03T13:23:00.001-05:00

An excellent development occurred for Ebay on Monday March 3rd. Skype has teamed up with Oprah and bestselling author Eckhart Tolle for an exclusive, Skype-sponsored, worldwide online class. For starters, this is huge news as it allows Skype to enter the US household. Oprah appeals to many viewers in the United States. Although Skype is well known in Europe and Asia it is virtually unknown in the United States. Oprah wouldn't team up with Skype if she felt it was a fly by night outfit. Thus I believe this is ground breaking news. One of those little cracks that fall through and barely create a whimper until millions of households throughout the U.S. begin to familiarize themselves with Skype.

On a side note why was it necessary for Reuters to issue a press release stating Ebay's mention of their risks in their annual report. Every company lists their risks in their reports. For example a company goes out of its way to list every possible risk. One wonders why they didn't add the following: if a meteor was to strike earth, this may hurt Ebay's chances of doing business or in the event of a nuclear war Ebay may have difficulty operating. Thus Reuters took it upon itself to dedicate an entire article to this common annual report news of potential risks. A novice investor upon viewing this report would have alarm bells going off in his/her head. Reuters should take more responsibility in their actions or else they may have many angry people on their hand who sold on this news which was very biased indeed. Shame on you Reuters

Ebay’s settlement with MercExchange

2008-02-29T09:02:00.001-05:00

After several years of battles in the media and the courts, Ebay has finally settled with MercExchange. Originally, MercExchange’s founder, patent lawyer and engineer, Thomas Woolston argued in court that Ebay was illegally infringing on various patents that he had created. One of the patents in questions was the very popular “Buy it Now’ technology prominently featured on many Ebay auctions. Woolston promised to do everything in his power to have the courts issue an injunction against Ebay. His goal was an immediate injunction to prevent Ebay from using the “But it Now” feature until they promised to pay for the license. Spokesmen for MercExchange argued in court that Tom Woolsten invented this patent before Ebay was a twinkle in investor’s eyes. Ebay countered that Woolsten was jumping on the bandwagon and trying to rob the company for as many millions as the legal system allowed. Woolsten wasn’t going to stop there, if his “Buy it Now” patent successfully held up in court he was going to go after Ebay and others for additional patents. He mentioned first Ebay, then Amazon and who knows how many. It is debatable if Woolsten actually did invent these patents as Ebay’s lawyers argued that long before Woolsten patented this feature some people were using this technology on the internet for their business. Thus the major question was is Ebay telling the truth or Woolsten. After many trials the courts came to the conclusion that Ebay was to pay MercExchange $30 million which was further reduced to $25 million. Ebay was in the process of appealing this decision and stated they believed they had owed MercExchange the lump sum of zero dollars.

Thus on February 28th we were greeted with the news that Ebay has finally decided to purchase these patents and has settled with MercExchange. Why the sudden change of heart? Perhaps President to be Donahue would like to start off fresh and wipe away any old headaches from the past. One can only wonder. Additionally if MercExchange was very disappointed with the $25 million they received what would it have taken to acquire all three patents? 50 million? 75 million? 200 million? Had Ebay acquired all three patents for $25 million you can be sure to have seen a press release stating that “Ebay has prevailed in court by receiving all 3 patents for $25 million. Thus my guess would be the figure Ebay paid was $100 million.

Know that Ebay has possession of the 3 patents will they up their fight against Amazon and take them and other to court for infringement? One can only wonder?

If it did cost $100 million Ebay still came out of the deal way ahead as they know hold the patent technology and can sue other companies at will. Additionally MercExchanges’s goal from the start was to shut down Ebay’s Buy it Now feature and Ebay prevailed. However what happened to all of the work around patent technology that Ebay was promising us if they had lost the court ruling?

Ebay Website for Advertising & Skype Click to Call

2008-02-26T10:38:00.002-05:00

Whatever happened to Ebay's website as a one stop site for auctioning off auctioning advertising ads. Back in 2006, we heard that several major advertisers were teaming up with Ebay to sell television advertising in an electronic marketplace. We then heard that many cable companies had dropped out and thus the project was on hold. However we then were told back in 2007 that the Oxygen channel and some others were still on board. However know we are left in the dark as to the viability of this project and if it is still in the works.

Speaking of which, what is taking so long for Skype's click to call advertising technology and why hasn't Ebay advertised Skype in the US. No one hear know about Skype. Ten out of ten people in Europe & Asia when asked are familiar with Skype. I have even asked a couple from as far away as Africa and they are familiar with Skype. However if you ask 30 people in the U.S. about Skype only 1 out of 30 people have every heard of the company. Message to Ebay: You spent 3.1 billion on Skype a little extra advertising in the U.S. can't hurt.

Will Ebay's Kijiji Eventually overtake Craig's List

2008-02-22T08:51:00.004-05:00

With each passing month Ebay's Kijiji service continues to gain users at an unprecidented rate. Kijiji New York alone has over 22,000 ads. What is impressive is that Kijiji's ads last one week and there is a limit of 25 ads per person. Thus the majority of ads are not from spammers. Craig's List possible feeling the heat has extended their ads to last 30 plus days. Additionally Craig's List is so cluttered that one gets lost visiting the site. Many people still do not even know Kijiji exists as advertising has been limited. However, Kijiji's clean interface, & easy to use Map makes it a prime favorite to overtake Craigslist in the not too distant future. Know if only Ebay can make money from the site. Note to Ebay: Please at least start putting some display advertising on the site. If they wait too long there will be too many users and we will start hearing the crying whining pains of "We will boycott Kijiji if ads appear." Ebay is allocating a lot of resources to Kijiji. One can also say that Ebay's 25% investment in Craigs List was used to learn the classified trade. Thus Ebay needs to monetize the site and soon.

Are you listening Ebay?

Why is the Media neglecting Ebay's Stumbleupon?

2008-02-20T08:56:00.002-05:00

Hello, has anyone out there reported lately on Ebay's Stumbleupon? For a site that has grown to over 4.5 million users from 2 million at the time of Ebay's acquision you think Stumbleupon would at the very least make a dent in the media. We hear news about Skype, Stubhub an occasional Shopping and Rent.com blurb. However never a whimper on Stumbleupon. Stumbleupon is a terrific toolbar that searches the web for your interests. You are able to discover marvelous sites that you never knew existed. When a site is presented the user can click a thumbs up or a thumbs down. Thus Stumbleupon will then retain that information and discover more sites conducive to the user's liking.User's on Stumbleupon are not only able to access websites but video sites. There is a people's tab which gives Stumblupon the potential to be similiar to Myspace and Facebook. Ebay is sitting on a potential goldmine, however has been slow to act. They can transfer Stumbleupon into a sort of Myspace or Facebook by adding Skype's voice chat to the site. Stumleupon can be an invaluable resource to Marketing firms. Marketing firms will be able to get a better gauge of an individual's tastes and preferences. Also, StumbleUpon can add a simple search box to also be able to search the web making it a one stop destination. Ebay seems to be behind the curve ball on implementing their startegies and are missing key points. They seem to have the building's in place but have yet to add the required wiring. Ebay I am available for consultation, and have more knowledge about Ebay and how to implement strategies than more than 75% of your employees. You listened to my suggestions on adding Yahoo and Googles's ads and taking advantage of outside advertising. It only took you three years after my persistent phone calls and e-mail suggestions. You almost listened to me when I suggested that you stop wasting 500 million in advertising to Google when it was money down the drain. However you then went back to Google. Why help your enemy I will never know. Are you currently listening?

Why Ebay Should Acquire Drugstore.com

2008-02-17T09:51:00.004-05:00

Drugstore.com (DSCM), the number 1 online Health and Beauty site, would make a perfect fit for eBay (EBAY). With a current market cap of $258 million, this site can be purchased for $500 million, a small amount to pay for a company that had positive Net Income for the first time last quarter.

Although a loss is forecast for the first quarter of 2008, Drugstore expects anywhere from a loss of $1 million to a profit of $3 million. If eBay were to acquire Drugstore, they would easily achieve their goal of $3 million with plenty to spare. eBay can provide their sellers with reduced prescription plans, contact lenses, vitamins, etc. It is a win-win situation for both parties as Drugstore will receive plenty of online muscle and eBay will become the premier destination online for health and beuty supplies.

I don't understand why eBay spends more than $500 million alone in ad spending with Google (GOOG). For all thoughts and purposes this money is wasted. When someone wants to go to eBay all they have to do is type in www.ebay.com. How difficult can this be? I have never gone to eBay through Google and neither have any of my other friends. eBay already has a foothold in classified listings, shopping, real estate, VOIP etc. Health and Beauty can and should be the next frontier. Are you listening, eBay?

The Skype phone

2008-02-11T08:55:00.000-05:00

Computer cellular expert Skype, a division of eBay was showing its first Skype phone.

I got to see a real working model in action. It was a GSM model that contains new software allowing you to make Skype calls over regular cell phone networks (not over Wi-Fi or via computers).

As with current Skype appliances, Skype-to-Skype calls are free -- and current rates prevail for Skype to other types of phone calls. I was told that the audio quality of Skype calls made on the phone were indistinguishable from GSM cell phone calls via the same phone.

The cell phone hardware I saw works only on overseas GSM cellular networks -- but Skype says it is in talks with U.S. providers to have its software incorporated into phones made for the U.S. marketplace. Stay tuned.

GM To List Used-Car Inventory On eBay

2008-02-08T18:10:00.000-05:00

General Motors Corp. (GM) said it signed a deal with eBay Inc. (EBAY) to list its entire inventory of used cars on the Internet-auction site.

The Detroit-based automaker said it will list more than 3,900 GM Certified Used Vehicles, each with fewer than 60,000 miles and aged six years or less, on www.ebaymotors.com at no cost to its dealers.

Ebay & AOL?

2008-02-05T08:28:00.001-05:00

I heard today that the San Jose Mercury News reports that EBAY may be a potential bidder for Time Warner's AOL unit in a $10 billion transaction.

Now this would truly be a major disaster and if Ebay was to do this I would genuinely have to ask what the heck are they thinking. I don't see any benefits coming from this. I just hope this is a rumor as Ebay cannot be this reckless

As I have mentioned many times in the past a cheap company that Ebay can acquire is drugstore.com, the #1 online health and beauty site on the net. Ebay can acquire this company for $400 million and it should be profitable this quarter. They can provide Sellers with a state of the art health plan etc. Who the heck uses AOL anymore. It is terrible.

Ebay's Fee changes Opionion by Jim Griffith

2008-02-04T12:40:00.001-05:00

As you might imagine, I have received some email this week about the recent announcements, especially with regards to changes in the Feedback system. The majority of the emails sent, were by sellers with various levels of concern (ranging from high-pitched vehemence to eruptive volcanic rage).

Almost all of the emails I received in the last week start or end with something like, “…Griff, I know as an eBay old timer, you don’t agree with these changes and I am hoping you can use your voice to have this decision reversed…”

The truth is I am 100% in favor of the changes to Feedback. In fact, I have been hoping for this type of change for quite a while now. Please put down those stones and give me a moment to explain.

For those of you who have been around since the early days, you remember that in its first incarnation back in 1996, the eBay Feedback system, as intentionally designed by Pierre Omidyar, was wide open. Any registered eBay user could leave Feedback for any other registered user, for any reason.

You could leave Feedback for a buyer, a seller, or even for someone who may have helped you with a question on the eBay chat boards. Alternatively, you could leave a negative to someone who might have offended you on the chat board.

That original version of Feedback wasn’t perfect. There were the occasional abuses, but for the most part, the first version of eBay Feedback worked, primarily because the Community back then was smaller in number and the occasional Feedback abuses were easier to spot and remedy.

By 1999, our Community had grown to a size that made the old system unworkable as a reliable reputation record. The incidence of Feedback padding and Feedback flame wars started to get out of hand. Therefore, after nearly a year of careful deliberation and planning, the first major change to Feedback rolled out; the ability to leave Feedback was restricted to only the buyer and seller in a transaction.

There was of course, quite an outcry from long-time eBay members who were unhappy with the change (making Feedback transaction related) but buyers and sellers adapted quickly and the revised version of Feedback worked well, for a few years at least.

Since 2000, all good sellers have strived to maintain the best possible Feedback score and percentage possible. Maintaining a 100% positive rating became the main driver behind many sellers’ eBay selling strategies. Who could blame them? As the online marketplace grew in depth and breadth, a good, reliable measure of reputation was critical to a seller’s success.

Some, in fact, many sellers maintained a 99-100% positive Feedback rating by building their whole business strategy around “customer first” by providing the best possible experience for all their buyers. Let’s call them “A1” sellers. The majority of these “A1” sellers left Feedback for their buyers upon receipt of payment (thus removing the possibility of their giving a retaliatory Feedback to a buyer).

Many other sellers maintained a 99-100% by exploiting the system’s inherent built-in weakness: the implied threat of retaliation for a received negative. These sellers – we’ll call them “A2” sellers – never left Feedback first, but always waited to leave Feedback after the buyer left Feedback for them.

Many eBay buyers also became aware of the system’s inherent weakness through first either hand experience or deduction. Some buyers figured out that if they did have a less than pleasant experience with an “A2” seller, they would be “dinged” in kind. These savvy buyers stopped leaving deserved negatives for these sellers. Other eBay buyers learned of the system’s tilt only after leaving a negative for a seller and receiving one in kind. These otherwise good buyers, soured on their experience with retaliatory Feedback, were immediately leery of making future purchases on eBay. Many even stopped using the site altogether.

As the issue of retaliatory Feedback continued to grow as a Community concern, our remedy was to introduce Mutual Feedback Withdrawal which de-scores the negative comments left by a buyer and seller for each other, thus removing the effect of those negatives on the member’s percentage rating. As the number of active buyers and sellers grew on eBay, the “A2” sellers discovered that Mutual Feedback Withdrawal had some shortcomings, with the ability to “extort” a removal of a negative from their profile.

The unfortunate result of both the system’s retaliation weakness and the exploitability of Mutual Feedback Withdrawal was a slow and steady erosion in Feedback’s accuracy and efficacy as a reputation guide for buyers to rate sellers.

In my opinion, the fault for this erosion does not lie with sellers or buyers. The fault is ours (eBay). When we changed the system back in 1999 to one tied to a transaction, we should have had the foresight to implement then, the bold change that we announced a few days ago.

This is why I was relieved and excited to hear the news that the system was undergoing a major change, but I worried as well. It is human nature to resist change and I knew that this was one change that, although necessary for the health of our marketplace, would generate much seller consternation and in some cases, outright shock and anger.

We aren’t just talking about a policy change here. For all of us inside the eBay universe, this is a major cultural change; in fact, the most ground breaking of any change ever made on eBay including the first major change to Feedback in 2000 – Transaction-related only Feedback.

So why am I blogging this? Good question. My opinion about the Feedback changes, no matter how well stated, will not easily assuage the fears and anger of many sellers nor do I expect it to persuade those who are absolutely determined that restricting sellers to leaving only positives for buyers is a good thing for business. But, after listening to hundreds (thousands if you count my archived email since 1996) of buyers and sellers on the topic of retaliatory negatives and knowing that ultimately, the old system would continue to drive away buyers at an alarming rate. I believe this is the right and the only path to take, and I urge everyone to give the changes a chance to work.

Starting in May, as buyers begin to leave more honest Feedback and the spread between Feedback scores opens up over time (yes, many of us with lily-white 100% positive scores will loose them), the trust that buyers have in the entire eBay marketplace will increase as well. If we evolve our Feedback system so that it provides a more accurate and reliable gauge of a seller's business and customer practices, I know that buyers will become more confident in their purchases on eBay and most importantly in our most valuable asset. You.

Ebay lowers Fees & Makes Additional Changes

2008-01-29T09:41:00.000-05:00

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan 29 (Reuters) - Online auction leader eBay Inc (EBAY.O: Quote, Profile, Research) on Tuesday introduced price changes and tighter sales standards in a bid to retain quality sellers, improve customer service and revive flagging growth.

In a speech to eBay's top store operators and market makers in Washington D.C., CEO-in-waiting John Donahoe will set out a plan to reward the company's best sellers with sales incentives and priority ranking in search results for auction items.

Key changes involve lowering fees for listing items within auctions or for independently operated stores run on eBay. It also involves raising some of the fees sellers pay once sales transactions are successfully completed. And eBay plans to raise minimum standards to discourage abusive sales practices.

"Sellers that describe items accurately, ship on time, and ship at a fair price will enjoy preferential pricing and discounts on eBay," Donahoe said in prepared remarks. "We're serious about making eBay easier and safer to shop."

EBay is seeking to reverse slowing revenue growth in its marketplaces business, which is roughly half the level of three years ago. The company telegraphed that changes were in store last week when it reported its 2007 year-end results.

The moves initially take effect February 20 in the United States across both auction bidding and fixed price markets. In coming weeks, similar changes will be introduced in Germany and Britain, eBay's No. 2 and No. 3 markets. Eventually, the pricing and other rules changes will take effect worldwide.

In the United States, eBay plans to reduce insertion fees -- the cost of listing new items -- by 25 percent on most auction items and by 50 percent on most store items.

The fee changes, which vary by country, are intended to encourage sellers to list more items and use more pictures to illustrate listings, moves designed to encourage shopping

Final value fees, or the price sellers pay for successfully completing a sales transaction, go down as the value of items go up. The pricing changes lower the up-front risk if listed items don't sell. "Put simply, we will make more of our money when sellers are successful," Donahoe said in a statement.

Long-serving eBay Chief Executive Meg Whitman said last week she planned to step aside at the end of March and be replaced by Donahoe.

There were 532,000 stores operated with the eBay network in the fourth quarter. The company no longer discloses the overall number of sellers who participate in its auctions business. But it boasts 1.3 million people make some part of their living selling goods or services on eBay sites globally.

Along with fee changes, eBay is making its minimum standards more stringent for anyone who sells on the site, primarily to discourage behavior like charging excessive shipping fees or not describing listed items accurately. Sellers with high customer dissatisfaction ratings will be given lower priority in searches consumers perform on eBay.

Analysts said the changes were welcome but that eBay has a lot more to do to revive its growth in its auction business.

"While the moves are bold, I don't think they are going to change the face of competition," Scot Wingo, chief executive of ChannelAdvisor, a sales consulting group that advises online merchants who sell through eBay and other sites.

But Wingo said eBay was headed in the right direction by cutting fees that have pushed some merchants off of eBay, reversing a pattern of fee increases seen in recent years.

Lower fees could help woo back sellers of books, music and videos -- items that typically sell for under $25, he said.

"These guys have had a very tough time as (auction listing) prices and then store prices went up," Wingo said. "That drove a lot of selection off the site," he said, both to rival Amazon.com and to Web sites these merchants set up themselves.

Deutsche Bank analyst Jeetil Patel, one of two out of 27 analysts who recommend investors sell eBay shares, has argued eBay must drastically cut its sales commission structure in order to compete with Amazon, which will require "hitting the Reset button on (its) business model," he wrote last week.

"We think the structural issues may take years to overcome, given the economy, competition and financial impact," he said. (Editing by Derek Caney)

Hey Patel just say you are wrong already. Why don't you worry about your banks's Subprime Mess. What an IDIOT

Paypal to Acquire Fraud Sciences

2008-01-28T10:26:00.000-05:00

NEW YORK, Jan 28 (Reuters) - PayPal, a unit of online auctioneer eBay (EBAY.O: Quote, Profile, Research), said on Monday that it would acquire Israel's Fraud Sciences Ltd in an all-cash deal worth about $169 million.

Fraud Sciences' risk tools and analytics are likely to enhance eBay and PayPal's fraud management systems, the companies said in a statement.

The companies said they expected the deal to close within 30 days. EBay does not expect the acquisition to have a material impact on its 2008 financial outlook

Meg to Retire, can it Be???

2008-01-22T10:43:00.000-05:00

News today going around indicated that Meg is about to retire from Ebay. Why has she decided to retire know. Thus she have that much confidence that Romney is going to be the next President of the United States and she is going to be elected as the US Commerce Secretary. Trust me Meg, Romney has about enough chance as winning as one has of finding a genuine diamond necklace on Ebay with a Buy it know price of 1.00 and no takers.

What does this mean for Ebay? Take the quiz and let me know your thoughts.

Ebay, Different Strokes & Stumble Upon

2008-01-18T14:24:00.001-05:00

Ebay & Different Strokes,. Stumbleupon and Fee Changes
Bidding on eBay reached $400,000 Thursday for a pair of navy blue, size 12XL-Regular Gap Kids sweatpants signed by former child star Gary Coleman, E! News reported.

"This is really high," eBay spokeswoman Karen Bard told E!

"If someone pays $400,000," added memorabilia dealer Brian Chanes, "I would eat my hat

Stumbleupon up to 4,280,030 members and growing

Expectations are high that eBay will announce fee changes before next week's fourth-quarter earnings release, and may include category-based pricing and volume-discount pricing. Most industry observers are basing predictions about the timing of eBay's annual announcement on the fact that eBay's analyst conference call is scheduled for January 23, and that eBay's annual meeting of high-volume sellers is scheduled for January 29

Merrill Upgrade and Roman Colored Plastic Balls

2008-01-17T11:21:00.000-05:00

Bear Stearns upgraded online auctioneer eBay Inc. to outperform from peer perform, saying concerns about competition from the likes of Amazon were overdone, in my view I believe way way overdone.

Rome, Jan. 17 - A few hours after the colourful spectacle on Piazza di Spagna in Rome, the coloured plastic balls thrown by Graziano Cecchini, already famous for colouring the water of the Trevi Fountain red, were sold on eBay. The first ad appeared 14:44h yesterday, just a few hours after the event. Prices started at 50 euros, but the seller promised to send each ball "in an elegant package". After two hours, at 16:11h, the second offer appeared: just one ball, but "coloured red for positive feelings" the advertisement said. But some people left Piazza di Spagna yesterday with the pockets filled with the little balls and offers are already rising.

Romney wins Michigan Good or Bad for Ebay

2008-01-16T08:16:00.000-05:00

With Romney winning the Michigan Primary last evening, it means he is still in the Race. Ergo, Meg Whitman will still be campaigning heavily and neglecting her Ebay Duties. Meg is dreaming of a White House Position, however she must be told that Ebay will only tolerate 100% of her dedication toward the company. Perhaps Meg promised Ebay certain benefits should Milt become President. As an Ebayer who would you vote for and why. Which candidate to you think will help Ebay the Most?

Vote on the right hand side

Ebay, Citibank & Skype

2008-01-15T08:19:00.000-05:00

Citibank, the nation's largest bank,lost $9.83 billion in the last three months of 2007. Yes you read it correctly, $9.83 billion and that is in US Dollars. As you recall a while back Mark Mahaney the analyst at Citibank downgraded Ebay as he mentioned that Google's checkout was going to be giving Paypal tons of problems and Mark wasn't too pleased with Ebay's acquisition of Skype. Lets see Mark, your firm lost $9.83 billion that is more than 3x what Ebay paid for Skype and SKype is growing and contributing to Ebay's bottom line. My question is this, if we went back in time and Mark recommended to his peers, "Hey lets stay out of this sub prime business and lets buy Skype instead"; he would be lauded as a genius. The front page of the Wall Street Journal would read "Citibank sticks it to peers, steals Skype, and stays clear of Sub prime Mess". "Mark Mahaney writes "Skype is one of the best VOIP servers in the market, I as a brilliant analyst saw the sub prime crisis coming and notified my firm to stay clear of the mess. Instead of losing 10 billion we spent 3 billion to purchase a company that is producing earnings." My point is this, do not listen to these idiots on the Street. They are the same ones manipulating the price of Ebay's stock and selling because they are running out of funds and need all the cash they can get their hands on. They try to scare individual investors into selling their stock so their traders can purchase it cheaply. Isn't it a coincidence how Mark liked Ebay a few months back(after his traders had scooped up the shares at a cheap price). Know they are probably dumping the stock to pay off their sub prime mess.

Hey Citibank wouldn't you love to have used some of your billions in losses to have acquired Skype??????

Stubhub Growing with link to Daytona 500

2008-01-14T13:09:00.000-05:00

Stubhub announced a deal today with Daytona 500.

Daytona 500 Tickets — The 50th Running, Feb. 17
StubHub Is the Preferred Fan to Fan Ticket Marketplace of the 50th Running of the Daytona 500

The Daytona 500 is simply the crown jewel of the NASCAR calendar, and one of the most high-profile events in all of racing. The green flag drops on the golden anniversary of this legendary race on Sunday, Feb. 17 and we've got the tickets to get you front and center Or you can really get your engines revving with a four-day weekend pass, or a special all-inclusive Daytona 500 50th Anniversary package.

Additionally Stumbeupon is up to 4,251,177 subscribers, not too shabby

Ebay, Skype & The Subprime Crisis

2008-01-11T13:43:00.000-05:00

Isn't it ironic how every analyst who lambasted Ebay for acquiring Skype for 3.1 billion dollars are associated with firms that lost billions and billions in the subprime crisis(Lehman, Merrill, Citibank, etc). At least Ebay still owns Skype and Skype is growing and contributing revenues while all of these other firms are up to their necks in billions of losses. Bank of America invested in Countrywide at $20 per share and are know buying Countrywide for $6 per share. How is that for an investment. & we are to trust these analysts on investment advice? Just think if one of these analysts had asked their firms to stay away from subprime and buy Skype they would be lauded as geniuses in the Street today.

Additionally all those sellers who whined about Ebay raising final value fees etc. Why not take some of the money you had made from all of your sales of Ebay and purchase Ebay stock. It would have been a win win situation.

Granted Ebay should have instituted a seller loyalty program where by sellers who had been with the company for the first few years should have been exempt from increases. This would have detered many from switching. Hey Meg, it is not too late to start this seller loyalty program. Are you listening?

Kijiji & Classified Sites

2008-01-11T09:10:00.000-05:00

In New York, Kijiji is currently showing more than 17,000 ads. Quite impressive considering many people are unaware of Kijiji. Classified growth seems to be exploding within Ebay buy yet the stock is trading around 30. This is a sreaming buy.

Ebay is ridicuously undervalued

2008-01-10T07:58:00.000-05:00

There is no reason why Ebay shouldn't be trading at $50 per share with properties such as Skype, Paypal, Stubhub, Shopping.com, Rent.com, Kijiji etc which are growing.
This is just pure market manipulation. Everyone states that Ebay overpaid for Skype, however at least it is growing, for comparison look at Bank of America's huge billion dollar investment in Countrywide when Countrywide was trading at $20 per share. Countrywide is know at $5 per share. Look at Microsoft's recent investments. I guarantee you that if Ebay was to sell Skype to Google all of the analysts will be shouting to the rafters "What an Acquistion" "Google finds Gold Mine in Skype" It seems that no matter what Ebay does "Beat earnings time and time and time again that the Street dislikes the company. Is the reason that the street dislikes the company so very much is that a woman is in charge? One has to wonder what Ebay has to do to be at this level. I say just laugh at the idiots on the Street and load up at these bargain basement prices.

Is a Dividend in Ebay's future?

2008-01-09T09:36:00.000-05:00

With Ebay's share price stagnating, Ebay's Management owes the shareholders at least a dividend to compensate. Or if they will not issue a dividend spin off Paypal and Skype to Shareholders. Each shareholder should receive one share of Skype and one share of Paypal for each shares of Ebay that they hold. If Meg was smart she would time it in the same weak as Visa's Expected IPO. However don't hold your breath, Meg is obsessed with going to the White House and will exhaust all of her energy on Romney's behalf.

What is the deal with Jyve. It was some sort of My Space/Facebook that had appeared at the same time that Ebay had acquired Skype. It was run by Skype and could be found at www.jyve.com. However know it has disappeared and no one at Skype, or Ebay seems to have ever heard about it.

Why doesn't Ebay acquire Drugstore.com

2008-01-08T22:15:00.000-05:00

For a mere 500 million which is peanuts in Ebay's world, Ebay can aquire the #1 Online Health and Pharmacy Site in the World. Think about it, it fits their strategy perfectly. It is the #1 Provider, they can provide their sellers with a top knotch health care plan and Drugstore is EBITA positive and Cash Flow Positve. Drugstore should report a profitable 4th Quarter for the first time in their history. Also Ebay can stick it to Amazon and beat them to the punch as Amazon owns about 11%. Ebay can slowly accumulate positions in the company and do a direct takeover. Are you listening Meg or do the winds of Politics block your train of thought.

Ebay Stumbleupon and a Dating Site in the future

2008-01-08T14:23:00.001-05:00

No one has noticed but Stumble upon is up to 4.2 million subscribers

What is up with Skype's main log in page. So so booooooooooooring. Why not make it interactive with flashing lights showing all of the countries of the world connected.

Why doesn't Ebay open up a dating site. It would be awesome utilizing Skypes chat and video features with a feedback rating system.

What is Meg doing wasting her time supporting a losing candidate like Mitt Romney. Who knows; Meg we may not want you when you decide to come back. Meg reminds me of Hillary Clinton, Hillary is supposed to be doing her job as Senator but yet she is campaigning all over the United States for President. What is that all about? Why is Meg allowed to campaign with Romney when she should be focused on Ebay. You can't have it both ways, either resign or do your job 100%.