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eBay: Stock Fully Valued at Current Price

What are the numbers that you use in your sum of the parts valuation-are those EBITDA, EBIT, Operating Income, Net Income? What are you using?

eBay: Bottom Is a Few Months Away

I want to understand this from the perspective of small sellers (who are also, by the way, big sellers having sold thousands of dollars worth of goods on the site, ironically). But the comments on here are difficult to understand because of all the Ebay seller jargon. There are only a few posts on here written in English, let me try to parse those:

rctman 10/10 - 8:01PM-unintelligible post;
patricia 10/10/3:14PM-unintelli... post; what is best match/diamond sellers/sell thru?
powerseller 10/10 10:55AM:
1) Ebay doesn't have to give you a 1% discount. Does anyone else give you a 1% discount?
2) How are increased postage fees Ebay's fault? OK I see that you have to raise prices to make up for increased postage, but that's the case anywhere, not just Ebay, I presume;
3) I don't understand 3 because (i) I don't know the terminology; (ii) I don't see how you can blame best match, etc. for this and not that maybe people just aren't as interested in your items. How do you know that it's the new listing format?
4) I don't see how this is a change; is it just that the existing system is less effective than it used to be?
5) Again, OK your fees will go up but why? I just don't see any hard evidence that it's because of any changes that Ebay has made.

I for instance enjoy Ebay sites and services. I am not a heavy user of Ebay but I have sold things on there I wouldn't have been able to sell anywhere else, i.e. my used laptop, because I just don't trust any other site like Ebay. I know if I buy/sell there, I will be safe. And I don't care how much stuff costs elsewhere (i.e. some no name site) if I don't know the company. I also really like half.com and that site has saved me some cash on textbooks and DVD's. I have never had a problem with Ebay and they have always had great customer service.

It's funny because I think it's in vogue right now to trash Ebay without having any real evidence or proof anything tangible that they're doing differently or wrong (at least not that I can understand from these posts). The stock is down 50% in the year but the business is not down 50% on the year; in fact the business has grown over the last year. I don't care, I hope the stock goes down another 50%, if the underlying business is sound, that is what's important. Whitman has been selling but Ebay has bought back about $2B of stock in the last year, and at these levels I presume that they are buying more hand over fist.

Most of you also fail to mention how competing sites are any better than Ebay, thus darting the question: WHERE WILL YOU GO IF NOT EBAY or an affiliate of Ebay, i.e. Craig's list/half.com/etc etc?

Please keep trashing it. The stock will hopefully go down even more and that is probably a net good thing for me. I also hope that management will implement changes to make your experience more pleasant. I think everyone can and should win here. If the management really is making mistakes with the auction format, I presume they will eventually listen to you and make the changes that you request. I don't think they want to lose business.

I admit I may be a clueless nerd but I was hoping to make some sense of the posts, even though these complaints are probably not that significant to Ebay the company, not Ebay the the auction site. Looks from here like that might be difficult.

eBay: Bottom Is a Few Months Away

To clarify: I was not suggesting sellers stay even though they don't like Ebay. I was saying that Ebay is a franchise; if some sellers leave, others will take their place. Ebay is still a great brand. Craig's list is no Ebay. (But Ebay does own 25% of Craig's list-don't forget; so when you go to Craig's list, you're still staying within the Ebay holdings umbrella of companies).

Can any seller on here specifically, with numbers (not emotions), describe why Ebay is no longer a good place to sell? Can you please quantify what actually changed and why it costs you more, or whatever, to do what you used to? I've the comments on here but they seem frivolous; OK so you have to take paypal and you have to accept all forms of payment-what is the big deal? I just don't see what Ebay did that is so bad. Again, please quantify, no emotions.

Sellers, please convince me that you're right and I'm wrong.

eBay: Bottom Is a Few Months Away

My thoughts, I'm sure nothing that you don't already know (disclosure: long Ebay):

Ebay is a great brand. To all the sellers - if you leave, where will you go? You need Ebay more than Ebay needs any one of you. Sad but true.

It is now a holding company but all of its businesses virtually print money.

Right now, you strip the cash out and the company is selling for $16B. It will make about $2.4B of cash this year. More next year. That is a 15% yield.