Will eBay Spin Off PayPal and Skype?

From eBay Inc.’s Q408 conference call: (EBAY)

We invested more in our eBay and PayPal technology platforms in 2008 than ever before. We also significantly strengthened our portfolio through the acquisitions of Fraud Sciences', Bill Me Later, DBA and BilBasen.

We have a powerful portfolio; one that, I frankly believe, is not fully credited in the value of the company… We have an increasingly diverse portfolio of businesses and revenue streams. Over the last three years, we've virtually doubled the size of the company, expanded our global footprint with 54% of our business coming from outside the US and diversified our revenue stream with about 45% of revenues coming from non-eBay transaction revenue.

Marketing services continued to become a bigger component of the Marketplaces revenue as we expand our formats and methods of monetization on the site. Classifieds grew 48%, text and graphical advertising were up 47%, but Shopping.com declined 50%, as rule changes, made by search engines last summer, disrupted Shopping's traffic.

PayPal is expanding as e-commerce expands. But wait, didn’t Bloomberg say eBay was suffering from a worldwide slowdown in e-Commerce?

Our sold item growth was 3%, I wish it were higher but it's higher than e-commerce growth rates and so we are going to continue to try to drive more frequency with our buyers and get them to shop more and more cross category.

They say the potential is there:

We're still in the very early days in e-commerce. E-commerce is today only 5% of offline retail. And frankly, I can see that doubling or tripling in the next five to 10 years, because if you think about what e-commerce should be, it should be lot higher than 5% of offline retail. So, it's a large market with lots of long-term growth potential.

Or is eBay’s core business failing because Amazon (AMZN) and other online retailers are killing them at their own game? Amazon has a popular loyalty program which allows two-day free shipping for $79 a year:

We fairly significantly shifted our marketing mix in '08 more towards loyalty based and frequency based marketing… We continued to be, I believe, the largest purchaser of key words and continue to achieve efficiencies and productivity in our effectiveness, both to generate new users through Internet Marketing, but also to generate repeat usage.

Perhaps eBay is considering spinning off its profitable businesses as its core business ‘matures’:

Q: Considering the trend of your depiction for '09, is there a point where a more drastic measure, I'm not talking necessarily just about a spinoff with PayPal, but, just a recap of the whole business, I mean, the alternative formats business is doing great. PayPal seems to be doing very well. The core business seems to be now maturing. Is there a point where a recap kind of becomes to be a “must” if shareholders are to make money in the stock?

A: PayPal continues to move towards ubiquity on the web through increased penetration on eBay, and an increasingly expanded footprint beyond eBay. PayPal extended its international presence with 45% of revenues coming from outside the US. In key operating metrics, global active PayPal accounts grew to 70 million, an increase of 23%.

Skype is a great standalone business… A year ago… I was uncertain of the synergies between Skype and the other parts of our portfolio, and certainly today, I still think it's a great stand alone business… Skype-to-Skype minutes last Q4 were growing at 26%, today they are growing at 72%, primarily because more and more users are adopting this [free] product in tough economic times... SkypeOut minutes have gone from 7% last Q4 to 61% growth this Q4, and that said, it's a $600 million run rate with 20% margin.

I think we are now confident that the synergies between Skype and the other parts of our portfolio are minimal. So, we are going to continue to run and operate the business. It's not a distraction currently and at such time when we have further announcement to that, we'll let you know.

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Comments

[Wake-Up!:]

Don't forget...

PayPal is not a bank! Your money is NOT protected the same way an FDIC insured institution is.

Use at your own risk!

Jan 22 09:52 AM

[Bob C:]

"We're still in the very early days in e-commerce."

But eBay has been around for about 14 years, and that's old in internet years.

Amazon had their best holiday season ever, and eBay was down 31%.
eBay is trying to turn into Amazon 2.0, and failing miserably.

Had eBay stayed with it's core strength's, it would still be a powerhouse.
But since Donahoe, and his band of MBA masterminds, decided that small mom & pop sellers were just "noise" and started ridding the site of the likes, the tables have now turned.

The "noise" has taken to the streets, signed on at other venues, and posted every chance they get, to let the world know about how eBay has treated the real people responsible for its original success.
Yes, real people, not the likes of Buy.com, etc.

The noise we will now hear is the Spin emitting from it's HQ's.

It ain't the economy stupid, it's eBay's stupid leadership!

Jan 22 10:08 AM

[Et tu, Brute!:]

I would like to underscore what Wake Up has stated above:

Paypal is NOT a bank! It is NOT bound by FDIC insured rules, and that's serious!

At this point in time Paypal is held accountable by NO rules save whatever they want. They change their policies like people daily change clothes. Just Google and Youtube and you'll start getting the REAL picture, no pun intended.

By the way, if you bother to take the time to read the user agreements and policies, it will scare the pants off you!

Jan 22 02:53 PM

[Ebay user 1:]

Ebay should be doing better because of a bad economy, when the economy is bad, Ebay was good before, now that this moron Donahoe has turned Ebay into every other site on the internet its not unique, people came to Ebay because they could not find another venue that was like Ebay, now its like every other venue on the internet ... He has filled Ebay with Diamond sellers that have their own websites and list for free on Ebay and flood it with stuff that can be found anywhere on the internet and usually at a lower price( once you buy from a Diamond seller you get notes to buy direct from their website with a discount, thus pulling you from Ebay, mom and pop only use Ebay to sell and keep you there),
\
Ebay used to be the only place to find unique items and that was the draw to the site to begin with, now its Walmart but more expensive and whats left of the "Unique" items are buried under all the free listings by the Diamond sellers which have a dismal selling rate and poor customer service but yet rate high in "best match" search thus bringing all the crap to the top and hiding the "Unique" items that Ebay was the only place to get that stuff at.

Wait til next quarter you want to see a fire sale on this stock, that "Live" search by "Microsoft" that Ebay had been advertising with was giving 30% to 35% off if you used "PayPal" in December and now those payments are being paid out, I got mine yesterday, you think Microsoft was footing the bill on that? no way! (Everyone else in "Live" search was only giving maybe 5%) Ebay was definatly subsidizing alot of that and still Ebay sales went down???? They were basically giving you 30% to 35% cash back on any "Buy it Now" on Ebay thats a ton of cash and will come due this first quarter, I know some people that are getting over $2000.00 back from that gimmick and still Ebay sales were down????? HELLO DONAHOE are you a total MORON or WHAT!!!!!!! YOUR CHANGES HAVE RUINED EBAY!!!!!!!!!

Even giving stuff away did not work., were they giving stuff away on Amazon?? ummm Hell No!

Keep the spin going, it seems that even the board of directors have thrown in with you because they want to hold on to their jobs as long as they can, before some conglomerate buys all you idiots out.

Ebay is now begging for people to put on 1 to 3 day auctions, ummm how can we do that when you made search not bring items ending soonest to the top and traffic is down on the site??? Like who wants to give stuff away??? because no one will ever see it. (again problem Diamond sellers and Best Match search)

Fact is when "Best Match" search came into play as their default search it ruined Ebay and you just cant auction like you used to be able to without losing money almost every time, the day he did that he started giving "Diamond" sellers free listings was a very bad day and watchers of items went down at least 80% on items because they were buried by all the "Diamond" sellers listing at prices that are high and no one will pay and buried all the deals.

Buyers at Ebay just started giving up on even looking on Ebay anymore because the stuff they used to be able to find just wasnt there (it was stil there but buried deep in search, most people that use Ebay dont even know that you can change that search to ending soonest. thats the problem) eventually even the sellers that had the unique items gave up on Auctions because no one could find them and if they did you would get maybe one or two people that would even bid because they took the time to find the buried stuff and you got killed on that auction, so Ebay sellers had no choice but to use "Buy it Now" and again their prices are lower than the "Diamond" sellers but were buried under them and would get hardly no sales so pretty much gave up.

The star system is a good idea that has really horrible problems, the shipping star is just ridiculas, it says right in the description what the shipping is so if you buy it you must be happy with the shipping costs right??? if not DONT BUY IT!!!! then be mad later ...

4 stars is a good rating according to Ebay, but if you actually get 4 stars you are kicked off Ebay, how crazy is that??? ... If you are going to make 4 Stars a bad thing perhaps you might not want to put that 4 stars is a GOOD rating right on the Ebay rating page, when people that get 4 Stars lose all selling privledges!!!!!!!

Meg Whitman had made such a damn mess of Ebay before she left it was sad, anyone could have grown that company at the time by just leaving it alone. Now we got her underling John Donahoe to enact policies that they worked on together but all at once then BANG EBAY IS DEAD! .... Do you see any whizz bang changes on say Craigs List??? ummm no ... you stick with what works!!!!!!!!! I mean that site is OLD OLD School style ... Bring Ebay back to what it looked like in the late 90's and it will all be back and LOWER THE DAMN FEE's so people will be able to actually find bargains!!! Stop screwing the small seller that made EBAY! and stop insulting the small sellers calling them "NOISE"!!!!!!!

Looks like the Noise was 100% correct Donahoe, you were the Noise and your pompass atitude towards the small sellers will eventually put you out of a job and possibly even criminal charges or at least a place on the list of other failed CEO's that ruined the company, you CEO's need to start being held accountable for your stupid management, stock holders and customer lose money then you should have to pay and lose everything you have, thats what you've done to us, "An Eye For An Eye" should be how these CEO's have got to start being treated and maybe they will start actually doing their job because their own wealth is on the line!

STOP Dictating what we can ship for what stuff gets a higher rate in "Best Match" all LEVEL playing field is all we ask!! ... Dont give one group a better chance just because they list 100,000 items that can be found anywhere online .. THAT KILLED EBAY!! ... competition and level playing field is what will make Ebay profitable and bring people back, this whole "They are charging too much for shipping) is just stupid, DONT BUY OFF THAT PERSON! ... thus wrings them out of the system, they charge too much for an item? again they get wrung out of the sytem til they lower their prices, Diamond sellers can usually sell for less because they have no Listing Fee's!!! and alot of times they sell for the same price or more than others because Ebay puts them at the top in search!

Hope Everyone has a Great Day!!

Thanks for reading my rant lol

Jan 22 03:36 PM

[Network Effect:]

Paypal is the golden egg. Why would they spin this off?

Jan 22 05:54 PM

[Yankee Trader:]

eBay User 1 you said it all! Nothing to add after that except Bonanzle is the place to be! PowerSellers are flocking there in droves. Buyers out number sellers 3-1 and the site is growing by 250 a day and it is still in infancy. Remember when eBay was fun?? We do and we found it again at Bonanzle.

Jan 22 06:21 PM

[o.c.d.colle...:]

He is such an imbecile! The sooner the board of directors dumps him, the better.

I'd still have to say that he must be getting what he deserves now. That is, he must be worried about his job! I should think he would!

Karma....the great equalizer!

Jan 23 12:16 AM

[John (Colde...:]

Message in a bottle to eBay and the Ebay execs, I got a quick message for anyone that will please listen?

3rdpoblogs.com/colderi.../

Jan 23 12:30 AM

[Jake Berzon:]

Amazon is winning the game, because they have a key strength that they built up and leveraged to help others sell products. They first help make their clients successful and then benefit from their successes. They also provide excellent customer service. This is the smart way to do business, but it is not an easy route.

On the other hand, eBay has lost their focus and is not either seller or buyer-centric. eBay user experience also suffers, resembling a flea market. This compares to Amazon's Target-like atmosphere. Of course, when prices are comparable, most people tend to choose Target (Amazon) over a flea market (eBay).

Jan 23 12:41 AM

[Ebay user 1:]

The Flea market beat the hell out of Amazon for years as far as sales go.

But I ask you something why would they even want to compare themselves to what is going on at Amazon? Ebay was Ebay a totally different venue and thus totally different metrics, sort of like comparing an apple seed to a pepper seed, them being both seeds is about all they have in common.

Now that Ebay has turned to an Amazon like platform its getting beat ... Amazon is Amazon, Ebay is Ebay comparing the two is apples and oranges until Donahoe decided hey lets be just like Amazon, why would you want to be like another site that you are beating?

Think about it Ebay wanting to be like Amazon was about the dumbest move in history, you will always have people that like going to auctions and flea markets and you will always have people that want to go to Target, but why make yourself the same place??? or try to? thats just Stupid in all ways, you cannot sell unique items on Amazon its just not set up to do that.
You want a "vintage" new pair of Nikes?? can you get it from Amazon?? nope ... want an antique chair can you get it at Amazon?? nope ... used car? nope etc etc etc. only a flea market can give you that, that was their niche.

Amazon is the Walmart of the online selling sites, Ebay isnt that or should I say "Wasn't" ... thats the whole problem, Ebay made money and increased their profitability every quarter until the decided to be something they are not.

Them trying to be like Amazon has to be about the Dumbest move I have ever seen, John Donahoe is just a total idiot and Meg didnt have much of a brain for the kind of site she was running, perhaps she would have done better at Amazon, they think like major retailors not flea market mentality or auction mentality, they just didn't have a clue about why the site was so profitable.

Meg did well because Ebay was a giant and like a giant it does well no matter who's at the helm for a while, until too many changes are made and it all starts crumbling because other giants built their own house instead of trying to copy their neighbors house like Ebay decided to do.

Jan 23 02:01 AM

[Phillip:]

There were signs of eBay playing a little catch up earlier last year when we saw them go towards Amazon's sku and Wigix's catalog system. Then when Bonanzle started to pick up all that steam this past year, eBay made sure they were on top of the ball. 2009 will be a good year to see how the online marketplaces pan out!

Jan 23 01:35 PM

[Ebay user 1:]

Before the end of last year is when all the rates started going sky high at Ebay and well before that, every year their was a huge increase in listing prices thus people thinking i cannot afford to list their anymore, it was all Ebays' doing that this happened, its called greed, people selling used items cannot afford that, check Craigs List its alive and well thats where all the people went to rid themselves of used items and basically all kind of other stuff, people just got sick of geting stabbed on listing fee's and paypal fee's it just wasnt worth all the trouble anymore, when you get rid of all those people that were selling then you also rid yourself of the buyers, because on Ebay the people trying to make small change were also buying items, the thing thats not understood on Ebay that well is people are creatures of habit, if they are now selling on other venues thats where they will buy, thus goes the traffic.

Ebay charging these sky high rates ruined them, they are just a listing engine, they own nothing they sell nothing, why would they think they are even entitled to a 15% to 20% gross of others merchandice and that would succeed??? ... can you even think how much a % of gross that is?? On a flea market style item? ... cripes that in some cases could be 100% of the profit.

If Ebay closed tomorrow PayPal would be worthless as well, dont you remember that Ebay didnt always own PayPal, they hated PayPal and all the people that now use Paypal was from people that used Ebay in the 90's ... If someone else opened a site like Ebay and had their own PayPal type of processor it would end up being used in the same way and people would then migrate to that, the people that have run Ebay have their heads in the clouds and every last one of them should be FIRED!

Jan 23 02:47 PM

[ebayvision:]

Ebay should spin off PayPal and sell Skype at the first given opportunity. They should split their businesses into the Good ones and bad ones and slowly diminish the Bad ones over time...This will help PayPal especially as an independent entity and help raise more money and save on taxes for the company as a whole...
But , all said and done, it is still the Ebay masterminds who need to make the right decisions and stay competitive in this market....

Jan 26 03:55 PM