Joyful Alternative

eBay: Growth at the Right Bid

eBay traffic for August and September was at a 5-year low: www.auctionbytes.com/c.... These times of recession and unemployment should be glorious for eBay, but they've made both selling and buying so difficult and unrewarding that eBay is sinking.
Friend 1 Googled an obscure item he needs. The only seller is on eBay only. Friend attempts to buy it and balks at having to sign up for PayPal with "too much personal information." "Why can't I just use my credit or debit card directly? Why can't I send a check or a money order?"
NB: PayPal now has competition from Google and Amazon.
Friend 2 is downsizing her empty nest, with piles of slightly used and semi-antique stuff to get rid of. She had used eBay in the past but now finds it too complex, confusing, and "weird" to list her excess for sale. She tried Craigslist and reports great success.
Everything about eBay is too bloated to function now, including its code (slow loads that shut out dial-up buyers and frustrate everyone else) and executive pay. There's just one item I buy on eBay now and only because I can't persuade the seller to list it elsewhere, and I have a shelf of unusual items I'd like to auction off online because I don't know what they're worth but it won't be on eBay.
It's hard to believe this author is so enthusiastic about eBay stock---obviously not a "value" investor.

Walmart Launches Walmart Marketplace

BigOlDave, you need to shop around. Just because WalMart is so cheesy looking doesn't mean it has the best prices. In my area, the utilitarian Aldi beats WalMart easily, and so does upscale Wegman's. And then there's the local Amelia's chain, an approved retailer of brand-name overstocks. If you're going to WalMart to save money, you're wasting a lot.

Unloading Skype Is Good Move for eBay

eBay no longer has a core auction business. Its newest plan is to center on overstocks, since its last plan to become an Internet mall a la Amazon didn't work.

eBay has been trying to get out of the auction business for a long time, which is the field it dominated. Instead of improving its technical underpinnings and its training, it overpaid for a wide variety of unrelated immature businesses. (I guess that was eBay's "conglomerate" phase!)

The SKYpe Is Not Falling

Whatever potential Skype may have, I don't see eBay developing it. Half.com once had a lot of potential before eBay bought it, and look at it now.

EBay: With Earnings Next Week, Estimates Head South

Listings are up because they've contracted with several huge Internet sellers like buy.com to sell on eBay's site with no listing fees; conversion rates are down because their new megasellers have generic goods cheaper on their own sites and in any mall.

Would-be buyers can't find what they want or browse because search is broken, and the pages are full of ads that lure would-be buyers offsite.

This economy should be a bonanza for eBay, with increasing numbers of people eager to sell their "stuff" for cash and buy cheap, but eBay seems too busy trying to turn itself into an online KMart to take advantage.

And someday PalPay will be noticed to be operating as an "unlicensed" bank.

eBay: The PayPal Factor

PayPal is operating as an unregulated bank, and one of these days, the feds are going to notice. As sstro noted, a lot of people say they've had problems getting the money PayPal owes them.

Poor Performance Often Linked to Excessive Executive Pay

Winger, there's a lot to be said for returning taxes to the levels of the Eisenhower level.

Welcome to the Google Economy

jonbob, I got a mortgage earlier this year, and 3 months later, the same bank solicited me for a HELOC! There's been way too much credit floating around.

Welcome to the Google Economy

For a Googy car company based on utility, try Philly CarShare. Parking lots all over the city and suburbs, with various sorts of cars for members to rent by the hour; no need to own or store your own car, and a nice well-maintained car always available nearby for grocery shopping or a trip to Grandmas.

And then there's the whole category of social/professional networking. I like LinkedIn, but there are many, depending on what you're looking for.

A Stockholder, and Merchant, Loses Confidence in eBay

eBay seems to be trying to become the KMart of the Internet, with lots of the same bland merchandise available at your local mall at the same price. The special deal with buy.com makes clear what was expected.

eBay, or somebody else, needs to be the garage sale, auction house, and estate sale of the Internet where interesting, even unique items star. If eBay wants to be the online WalMart, there's a big opportunity for somebody else.

Craigslist Returns Fire in eBay Suit

Plus no Final Value fees for the seller, and buyers wouldn't have to use PayPal!