Philip Cohen

Does CEO Age Affect Stock Performance?

What a load of nonsense! Age is irrelevant. In “Noise” Donahoe’s case, age certainly is irrelevant; eBay's problem is that Donahoe is a “turkey” and the question that follows is how can this headless fowl possibly survive another Xmas given that he has reduced eBay's staff levels, revenues and profits four quarters in a row? And undoubtedly the December quarter will bring more of the same.

Why is ‘Noise’ Donahoe trying to destroy eBay?
auctionbytes.com/f...

Same Store Sales for Black Friday, Cyber Monday

Clearly, as every day passes the situation at eBay is getting more and more desperate for “Noise” Donahoe and his gaggle of fellow incompetents (God help McAfee). How can this team of “turkeys” possibly survive yet another Xmas?

When is the “Ho” going to face reality and do the honorable thing: commit seppuku?

Why is “Noise” Donahoe trying to destroy eBay?
www.auctionbytes.com/f...

What Cyber Monday Looks Like for a Mid-Tier Retailer

And, I can’t imagine why anyone would want to buy their Murano beads from this seller as many of the unscrupulous sellers who trade in eBay feedback are selling such beads for $0.01 each (with free postage)! See
shop.ebay.com.au/i.htm...

But, don’t worry, eBay will put a stop to this unscrupulous activity: certainly? maybe? eventually? never? (tick one box). Probably never, because they really don’t care about such devious activity, that allows the unscrupulous to totally distort the feedback system; nor will eBay do anything to anybody if it might detrimentally affect their revenue, no matter how unscrupulous the activity.

The situation at eBay is obviously getting more and more desperate every day for “Noise” Donahoe and his gaggle of incompetent fellow “turkeys” (God help McAfee). When is this man going to face reality and do the honorable thing: Seppuku.

What Cyber Monday Looks Like for a Mid-Tier Retailer

Hi Scott,

I appologise for being so cynical; unfortunately, life has taught me to be so, particularly when it comes to commercial PR.

What Cyber Monday Looks Like for a Mid-Tier Retailer

"The subject of this photo though is that stack of paper there in the foreground. That is their Cyber Monday orders printed out to go in the shipments and to help with pulling/pick/pack/ship. That's one order per page and it took them 7, yes 7!, reams of paper to print out the orders."

Scott, If you are going to compound other people's claims, you should at least get them to give you a better picture to back it up. When paper goes through a printer it does not usually come out in such a tidy stack; most of the paper in this stack appears to have barely been taken out of its wrapper and I doubt has seen the inside of a printer yet.

Internet ETFs Await 'Cyber Monday' Results

“… and eBay (EBAY), which has seen a sharp increase in usage of its PayPal service (it reported a 20% uptick in payment volumes on Black Friday) …”

How come no mention of any “upticks” on the eBay Marketplace?

Good onya’ John, you’re doing a great parenting job—someone must think, although I cannot imagine why.

How can this turkey possibly survive yet another Xmas?

Why is “Noise” Donahoe trying to destroy eBay?
www.auctionbytes.com/f...

Web Shoppers Expected to Rescue Retail

"eBay’s holiday deals include free shipping, discounts and guaranteed returns on new items. ..."

Things are getting really desperate at eBay.

And the "eBafia Don" says “Ho, Ho, Ho, and a Merry Xmas” to all you happy and contented eBay sellers and buyers.

The fact is, this noisy “turkey”, if he survives another Xmas, is still going to be looking for his misplaced performance bonuses in the new year—assuming he does not find a small golden parachute in the petty cash tin any time soon (I’ve taken to praying for such an event—and I’m a devout atheist!).

Would anyone like to bet against another December quarter YoY reduction in just about every measure for the eBay marketplace? “Users” will, of course, be up—every unscrupulous professional seller has to periodically renew his 10-20 shill bidding IDs; it’s a shame though that they rarely “buy” anything (thank God for “Buyer did not pay”).

From my limited observations eBay must be just about approaching the stage of getting more revenue from listing fees than from FVFs. What say you to that scenario, “Turkey” Donahoe?

Why is “Noise” Donahoe trying to destroy eBay?
www.auctionbytes.com/f...

Amazon Leads the Pack in October Same Store Sales

Contrary to all his MBA-leant instincts, the “eBafia Don” has decided, in his typically incompetent, deceptive manner, to court those “noisy” collectibles sellers again. Such utter desperation indicates to me that the October figures must be predicting that the Xmas quarter is looming as another—rightly deserved—disaster for eBay. It’s a shame though that so many small business people have to be hurt at the same time.

The buckwits in control of eFay may as will be headless turkeys, and one has to keep asking the question, how can the head turkey, “Noise” Donahoe, possibly survive another Xmas.

“Why is the ‘eBafia Don’ destroying eBay?” at:
www.auctionbytes.com/f...

Earning Recaps: Yahoo, Microsoft, eBay, UPS, Amazon

Re eBay: Hang on, if, since the introduction of masked bidding IDs, every one of the many unscrupulous sellers on eBay now has 10-20 shill bidding IDs, that increase in "active users" should be a lot more than (only) 2%; methinks there has probably been a real decrease in genuine users. Face facts, the "Ho Ho Ho" has not got the faintest idea of what he is doing at eBay, except for holding his finger on the toilet flush button ...

Amazon Crushes Third Quarter

Well, that says it all.

When then is the eBay board going to get rid of the chief idiot and his fellow lunatics who are presently running berserk at eBay—the "Ho Ho Ho", being the chief amongst them.

September Same Store Sales: eBay Continues Growth Trend

eBay sales are up? That must be all the pro sellers buying their own stuff—but is eBay getting any FVF therefrom? Users will definately be up again: every unscrupulous auction seller now has 10-20 shill bidding IDs. Thanks Scott, but I'll keep my powder dry until the September quarter's "profit" is announced. I'm putting my money on a further reduction in revenue and a savaging of profits that not even the Ho's Department of Spin will be able to put a smiley face on. The pink-slipping of 400 Germans will make any difference. Actually, it's the Ho's and his fellow idiots' salaries that eBay's board should be thinking about saving ...

Has eBay Turned a Growth Corner?

Shill Bidding on eBay: Case Study #2

Shining some light on the more sophisticated and therefore slightly harder to detect shill bidding activity by some “professional” sellers on eBay auctions

Oh no, not another case study on shill bidding on eBay auctions? Yes, sorry, another one. This time a spreadsheet analysis of multiple auctions from some "professional" sellers from the US and Australia. Needless to say the analysis demonstrates, once again, that, contrary to eBay's claims, shill bidding by some “professional” sellers is rampant on eBay auctions. The full comment and spreadsheet download links at:
www.auctionbytes.com/f...

U.S. Retail E-Commerce Sales Stay Stagnant

I don't know what this article has to do with eBay but no doubt Donahoe would like to be only "down 1% vs. the same period a year ago."

And, “The marginally negative growth in Q2, on the heels of flat growth in Q1, ..." Again, Donahoe would be wishing, "if only ..."

Still, Donahoe and some analysts claim that eBay "is stabilising"; others have put it more accurately: going backwards slightly less quickly.

All that spinning makes me feel quite giddy. Is it any wonder that no one at eBay can make a sensible decision about anything ...

For eBay “watchers”, a detailed case study of shill bidding and the abuse of eBay’s proxy bidding system—all exacerbated by eBay’s introduction of “hidden bidders”—plus a detailed general criticism of eBay’s “clunky” auction platform, and policies, at

www.auctionbytes.com/f...

A synopsis thereof:

 very little of the auction system security, that eBay claims to offer buyers, exists in fact;

 contrary to their claims, it can be demonstrated that eBay has no “proactive” nor “sophisticated” system in place for the detection of undisclosed vendor (“shill”) bidding, and indeed eBay appears to do nothing about such criminal activity except as a reaction to users’ reports of suspicious bidding activity;

 eBay appears to have no effective matter-of-course verification of users: unscrupulous users can apparently have as many user IDs as they may have email addresses;

 many of eBay’s “rules”, concerning the retraction of bids, cancellation of auctions, etc, are nominal only and are no bar to the machinations of the unscrupulous seller;

 as a result, eBay’s “proxy” bidding system is so open to abuse by such unscrupulous sellers that to use it, as eBay intends it to be used, can be an invitation to pay your maximum;

 by the lack of any effectual system to proactively detect shill bidding, eBay has ever effectively, and knowingly, “aided and abetted” unscrupulous shill-bidding sellers to defraud naïve buyers;

 the masking of bidding IDs with non-unique, absolutely anonymous aliases serves no purpose other than to obscure all but the most blatant of shill bidding, and defeats any attempt at comprehensive analysis of individual bidding patterns to expose such activity;

 the quarterly changing of even these non-unique, absolutely anonymous, bidding aliases serves [i]absolutely[/i] no other purpose than to stop even experienced eBay users from attempting to manually track suspicious bidding activity over time;

 the anonymous, individual bidder Bid History Details pages, supposedly supplied to offset the absolute masking of bidding IDs, although better than nothing, usually present an ambiguous view and, in such circumstances, are of dubious value;

 anyone naïve enough to “nibble” bid on a seller-elected “private” auction (ie, “User ID kept private”), on the balance of probability, is going to be defrauded;

 when suspected fraud [i]is[/i] reported, and is found by eBay to be proved to their satisfaction, eBay will conceal that fact from the victim of the fraud; this then is the concealing of a crime after the fact, surely, a crime in itself;

 eBay will never acknowledge to a victim that a fraud has been perpetrated, nor indeed will eBay acknowledge that such fraud is even a problem on eBay auctions; eBay therefore sees no reason to provide any mechanism to aid in the recovery of any monies so defrauded;

 if eBay did have any proactive and truly sophisticated system in place for the detection and control of shill bidding, we would not now be having this debate; and

 for those buyers (and honest sellers) who embrace eBay believing that eBay acts as an “honest broker” between buyer and seller, I can only say that you may as well believe that there are fairies at the bottom of your garden too.

Is Apple Going to Compete with PayPal?

Quote: "The only big internet name missing from this list is Microsoft/Yahoo!. With their new marriage and focus on ecommerce, a deeper partnership with Paypal or a competing system seems like an interesting option to pursue."

What about Mastercard and Visa?

“Noise” Donahoe and some market analysts seem to believe that PayPal’s manning of the pumps will keep the steadily sinking ship “eBay” afloat. I certainly would not put my money on the “clunky” PayPal for the long term. Assuming that the parties don’t have some agreement to not compete, I have no doubt that eventually those other well known “loan sharks”, the major credit card companies, will get off their butts and introduce a similar universal card/terminal-less on-line payments system that the participating banks can incorporate into their internet banking systems—and they, at least, will do it properly—and that, my friends, will undoubtedly be the end of PayPal outside of the Donahoe-dwarfed eBay marketplace ...

I recall that Donahoe has been quoted somewhere as saying that the door is slightly ajar for a potential spinoff of his company’s online payments unit. If this is correct it will be the first logical thought that this guy has ever had; he otherwise clearly has no idea of what he is doing at eBay. If that MBA taught him anything then he should be using whatever skills he does possess to negotiate with the banks to take PayPal and integrate it into their online payments system—in exchange for an appropriate interest in the consolidated business, of course. Because, the more successful PayPal is, the more likely it is that the banks will finally get off their butts and introduce a like system; if and when that happens the banks will do the job properly and will exterminate PayPal for being the “irritating insect” that it is.

For eBay “watchers”, a detailed case study of shill bidding and the abuse of eBay’s proxy bidding system—all exacerbated by eBay’s introduction of “hidden bidders”—plus a detailed general criticism of eBay’s “clunky” auction platform and policies, at

<url>www.auctionbytes.com/f...;/url>

Buyers, and honest sellers, should read this case study so that they can be made aware, if they are not already so aware, of just how primitive and open to abuse is the eBay auction system.

A synopsis thereof:

 very little of the auction system security, that eBay claims to offer buyers, exists in fact;

 contrary to their claim, it can be demonstrated that eBay has no “sophisticated” nor “proactive” system in place for the detection of undisclosed vendor (“shill”) bidding and indeed appears to do nothing about such criminal activity except as a reaction to a user’s report of suspicious bidding activity;

 eBay appears to have no effective matter-of-course verification of users; unscrupulous users can apparently have as many user IDs as they may have email addresses;

 many of eBay’s “rules”, concerning the retraction of bids, cancellation of auctions, etc, are nominal only and are no bar to the machinations of the unscrupulous seller;

 as a result, eBay’s “proxy” bidding system is so open to abuse by such unscrupulous sellers that to use it, as eBay intends it to be used, can be an invitation to pay your maximum;

 by the lack of any such effectual security, eBay effectively, and knowingly, “aids and abets” unscrupulous shill-bidding sellers to defraud naïve buyers;

 the masking of bidding IDs with non-unique, absolutely anonymous aliases serves little other purpose than to obscure such shill bidding, and defeat any attempt at comprehensive analysis of individual bidding patterns to expose such activity;

 the quarterly changing of even these non-unique, absolutely anonymous, bidding aliases serves absolutely no other purpose than to stop even experienced eBay users from attempting to track suspicious bidding activity over time;

 the anonymous, individual bidder Bid History Detail pages, supposedly supplied to offset the absolute masking of bidding IDs, although better than nothing, can present an ambiguous view and, in such circumstances, are of dubious value;

 anyone naïve enough to “nibble” bid on a seller-elected “private” auction (ie, “User ID kept private”), on the balance of probability, is going to be defrauded;

 when suspected fraud [i]is[/i] reported, and is found by eBay to be proved to their satisfaction, eBay will conceal that fact from the victim of the fraud; this then is the concealing of a crime after the fact, surely, a crime in itself;

 eBay will never acknowledge to a victim that a fraud has been perpetrated, nor indeed will they acknowledge that such fraud is even a problem on eBay; eBay therefore sees no reason to provide any mechanism to aid in the recovery of any monies so defrauded;

 if eBay did have any truly sophisticated and proactive system in place for the detection and control of shill bidding, we would not now be having this debate; and

 for those buyers (and honest sellers) who do embrace eBay believing that eBay acts as an “honest broker” between buyer and seller, I can only say that there are fairies at the bottom of your garden too.

Amazon vs. eBay: 2 Charts Say It All

Sellers unhappy? What about the buyers?

For anyone with an interest in watching eBay, a detailed case study of shill bidding and the abuse of eBay’s proxy bidding system—all exacerbated by eBay’s introduction of “hidden bidders”—plus a detailed general criticism of eBay’s “clunky” auction platform and policies, at
www.auctionbytes.com/f...

A synopsis thereof:

 very little of the auction system security, that eBay claims to offer buyers, exists in fact;

 contrary to their claim, it can be demonstrated that eBay has no “sophisticated” nor “proactive” system in place for the detection of undisclosed vendor (“shill”) bidding and indeed appears to do nothing about such criminal activity except as a reaction to a user’s report of suspicious bidding activity;

 eBay appears to have no effective matter-of-course verification of users; unscrupulous users can apparently have as many user IDs as they may have email addresses;

 many of eBay’s “rules”, concerning the retraction of bids, cancellation of auctions, etc, are nominal only and are no bar to the machinations of the unscrupulous seller;

 as a result, eBay’s “proxy” bidding system is so open to abuse by such unscrupulous sellers that to use it, as eBay intends it to be used, can be an invitation to pay your maximum;

 the lack of any such effectual security effectively “aids and abets” unscrupulous shill-bidding sellers to defraud naïve buyers;

 the masking of user IDs with non-unique, absolutely anonymous, bidding aliases serves little other purpose than to obscure such shill bidding;

 the quarterly changing of even these non-unique, absolutely anonymous, bidding aliases serves absolutely no other purpose than to stop experienced eBay users from tracking suspicious bidding activity over time;

 the anonymous, individual bidder Bid History Detail pages, supposedly supplied to offset the absolute masking of bidding IDs, can present an ambiguous view and are therefore of dubious value;

 anyone naïve enough to “nibble” bid on a seller-elected “private” auction (ie, “User ID kept private”), on the balance of probability, is going to be defrauded;

 when suspected fraud is reported, and is found by eBay to be proved to their satisfaction, eBay will conceal that fact from the victim of the fraud; this then is the concealing of a crime after the fact, surely, a crime in itself;

 eBay will never acknowledge to a victim that a fraud has been perpetrated, nor indeed will they acknowledge that such fraud is even a problem on eBay; eBay therefore sees no reason to provide any mechanism to aid in the recovery of any monies so defrauded;

 if eBay did have any truly sophisticated and proactive system in place for the detection and control of shill bidding, we undoubtedly would not now be having this debate; and

 for those buyers (and honest sellers) who embrace eBay believing that eBay acts as an “honest broker” between buyer and seller, I can only say that there are fairies at the bottom of your garden too.