eBay's Google guard: Yahoo or Microsoft?

Wall Street Journal report says online-auction site has been talking with the companies about turf defense.

The story "eBay's Google guard: Yahoo or Microsoft?" published April 21, 2006 at 4:54 AM is no longer available on CNET News.

Content from Reuters expires after 30 days.

[KsprayDad]

Ebay threat...

Maybe ebay should concentrate on making the transactions for their users easy and low cost and stop raising rates EVERY year, sometimes by 50% or more.

Since both Yahoo and MSN got creamed in auctions by the Ebay juggernaut...I'd say screw em and start up again...put some real pressure on ebay from Google/Yahoo/MSN. If ebay is looking for an alliance they must be scared.

In fact...isn't ebay forgetting <a class="jive-link-external" href="http://expo.live.com/" target="_newWindow">http://expo.live.com/</a>
and
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://auctions.shopping.yahoo.com/" target="_newWindow">http://auctions.shopping.yahoo.com/</a>
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://classifieds.yahoo.com/" target="_newWindow">http://classifieds.yahoo.com/</a>

They're coming for YOU ebay.

[Peter Bonte]

Its not Google, its the money

Ebay can't sell user information to Google, for Yahoo and MSN
this is much more interesting.

Problem is that i don't want my personal information going over
to MSN, i signed up with Ebay and not some chat service. :(

[Mr. Network]

This is a sure sign....

that eBay is finished. They had a good run, but there is no way they can continue to compete with Google, my guess is they're looking to sell out to Microsoft. Microsoft should steer clear of that though, there's no way they will be able to sell more licensing! :) Go Billy Go!

[Heebee Jeebies]

I use eBay however...

The thing I have noticed is that like my local flea market eBay has gone the way they have and that is that have hundreds of thousands of auctions but most of them are either exactly the same offerings from the same seller or the price is low but they sc*ew you with shipping. eBay needs to set policies on shipping so buyers don't get screwed. When you pay $10 for something and it costs $50 to ship it something is right.

Another problem is that since eBay bought PayPal it has become far too easy as a seller to get scr*wed their too. PayPal's protection policies protect the buyer at the cost of the seller. They are only interested in tracking information when their is a dispute and nothing else. Including information that would be accepted as evidence is a court of law. PayPal wants to act like a Bank, but they don't have to follow the same rules. I also don't like the fact that when there is a dispute you only get a couple of canned responses to choose from and one of them doesn't fit the problem your are scr*wed again. Dispustes should be handled by people not machine.

These are the problems I see with eBay.

Robert

[Below Meigh]

eBay should be sweating it

I would really like to see Google-bay. ebay needs competition (aren't they now heading toward a monopoly on auctions?) and if google could exploit all the flaws of ebay (schilling ebayers, high s/h rates, resellers posing as auctions, poor protection for BOTH buyer and seller, guise of "we are only a venue", poor search criteria, screening of buyers, ...) it would win. Take some time but...

And for those that whine about shipping, yes, I agree some folks have ridiculous rates. I must ask that if folks look to make money while selling items at cost, well good for them. Many ebay buyers are compulsive anyway ('Why no buy it now?' 'How much to ship?'...) but there are many sellers that have to buy packing supplies and take time out to pack, transport and mail items. $20 for 1lb item via express next day is not bad. But $20 for 1lb via USPS or UPS ground is a rip.

I jsut feel nickel and dimed by ebay. Fees to list. Fees to sell. Fees fom paypal. Taxes. upcharges on fuel costs from UPS/Fedex. Fees to host images. I've practically stopped selling. Too much work for little return on selling items that are a loss anyway (one's junk, another's bargain).

[engstromm]

I'm sorry, but I must disagree with you somewhat..

Last year I started using ebay to buy items for repairing, upgrading and customizing PC's &#38; XBOX's... I was leery at first, but everyone seemed to be providing exactly what they said and most had really good rates on shipping. Unfortunately, this one seller really did me wrong... (and this is where my disagreement with you comes in). I had paid for the items using paypal... when I got the items they were incomplete. I tried contacting the seller several times over the next couple weeks - not only by email but by phone as well (long distance charges and all). When I could not get the situation resolved I ended up initiating the grievance policies under both Paypal &#38; ebay. After several weeks, a decision was finally made and it was not in my favor. After that I posted negative feedback for the seller and he chose to post negative feedback on me. Next thing I know, the seller somehow had the posting I left removed but they would not remove his negative posting from my history. After all that, I made contact with many of this seller's "victims" just to see what was what... many of them had the same story (or close enough anyway) to mine... very disappointing. So when you say that the seller's are the ones getting the shaft I beg to differ with you.

Now, I refuse to use ebay and I refuse to use paypal. I truly hope that Google comes along and wipes the floor with them. And yes, I am sure that should that happen it will not be long before people are having the same experience with Google that I did with ebay/paypal... but that is when someone new will need to come along and wipe the floor with them.

Thanks for letting me rant and disagree.

[Wildcat0695]

Losing eBay

If eBay goes the way of how hotmail looks to its users with all of the advertising, then my eBay days are over. I still find eBay somewhat useful, but I am venturing back to more normal retail sites for security. Plus some sellers are really ripping people off on shipping (stated before) and the Buy Now prices.

There are too many safer and sometimes cheaper selling and shopping options on the Internet for eBay to remain a giant in the arena. One good example is I listed something on Craig's List for free and got straight profit from it. No fees at all. Pure and simple.

[Sandra_Kerns]

There is only one answer to Google getting into other businesse

There is only one answer to Google &#38; Yahoo getting into one business after another and as a result providing totally unfair competition to the businesses that advertise on Google &#38; Yahoo, at least to small to medium size businesses.
And that is Anoox search engine. Because unlike Google &#38; Yahoo anoox promises not to be in any other business but the search engine business.
You can read this here:
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.anoox.com/in-search-engine-business-only.jsp" target="_newWindow">http://www.anoox.com/in-search-engine-business-only.jsp</a>

Anoox can do this because it is a Community based business, which means essentially not-for-profit business, that is it is run for the benefit of the
community members and not share holders, and community members are advertisers, voters, etc.
You can read about this here:
<a class="jive-link-external" href="http://www.anoox.com/community-based-model.jsp" target="_newWindow">http://www.anoox.com/community-based-model.jsp</a>

And of course on top of all this, anoox search results are better than Gooloo &#38; Yahloo because anoox search results are powered by the "People",
which is us.

Go People power, Go AnooX :)

[caudio_roma]

Well said - Hurray to Anoox :)

I totally agree. Anoox really rocks :)
It is better for search users because it lets us to vote for the search results. and search results are then optimized by majority vote of the people.
I like Democracy over dictatorship (of Google &#38; yahoo).

It is better for advertisers, because PPC ad rates are like 90% less on anoox compared to Y &#38; G. because of anoox community based business
model.

Only complain I have is that search results are too slow. But I understand that is because anoox is a small business and running on few servers only. So I hope they can address this slowness soon, otherwise I agree, anoox is better search engine for people (small businesses), Y &#38; G
are better for Fortune 500.

[Earl Benser]

Two shills in addition to Cryus....

.... are there any more paid posters out there for the infamous
Anoox?

[Heebee Jeebies]

I think stories like your are...

the excption to the rule. There are always exceptions. My story goes like.

I had a guy buy a product from me off my web site. I have all of my return and refund policies clearly stated on my site right on the order page. The ordered my product. I delivered electronically (that is how he wanted it, not the CD version that I also offer). He contacted PayPal and said he didn't get it. He never contacted me, just right to PayPal. Once PayPal contacted me I contacted him and offered to resend it. He said that wasn't required. I did everything I could to fight it with through PayPal because I didn't feel he was being fair. After PayPal said that because it was delivered electronically and I had not shipping information they gave the guy his money back. A day after he got his money back to sent me an e-mail and said thanks for the free product. He did get it but wanted it for free and said what a chump I was. Well, I contacted PayPal and sent them his e-mail. They told me that it didn't matter because I didn't have delivery confirmation and that anytime something is delivered in such a way that there is no delivery confirmation I would loose.

So the guy screwed me and PayPal let him. Any place else I would have gotten my money. I even asked PayPal if e-mail confirmation recipts would do and they said no. I know for a fact that these as well as e-mails themselves have been used in courts.

I also know that real credit card companies don't have the "delivery confirmation" requirement. They look at all of the evidence and then decide. PayPal is unfair and they thing they can do what they want. Something needs to be done and I think sooner or later something will be done. A lawsuite will hit them sooner or later. I would file one if I had the money.

If they want to act like a bank and a credit card company and an investment company (since you can use your PayPal balance in with their Money Market option) then they should have to follow all of the same rules. But, they don't.

Robert