leapingcat

EBay's Aim at Amazon: Off Target

Another response to Redbaron:

Some excellent points about Ebay and collectables, I agree with much of what you said, but I approach it from a different angle. One of the great successes of Ebay was the way in which it created a vast transparent market for collectables, which meant that they were able to find a true market price and not one artificially inflated by speculators. I was able to add to my collection at an affordable price, and as my tastes changed, easily sell the items that I wanted with low fees and no dealers profit margin to reduce the price that I got.
That is the market that Ebay are rapidly destroying by their changes in policies and constant fee increases, and their attempts to become an Amazon clone. Alternatives such as ebid.net are starting to fill that vacuum by providing the sort of environment that collectors want, the latest changes can only speed that process. In the meantime, if I want to buy a book or DVD, I would still look at Amazon first. I feel more confident dealing with a company that still seems to make items easy to find and provides a hassle free service. Perhaps this is in part a reason for the different P/E ratios.