Lookit, I run an ostensible eBay competitor. I'm very pro-eBay. (Really. It's not hard to be.) But this article is insane, and that's by the Barron's hot st

Lookit, I run an ostensible eBay competitor. I'm very pro-eBay. (Really. It's not hard to be.) But this article is insane, and that's by the Barron's hot stock article standards. Everyone knows that marketplaces - AT SCALE - are perfect stores: no inventory, no theft, all margin. And Amazon's third-party Marketplace is nowhere near as robust as conventional wisdom says it is. But eBay is surely declining - in revenue, in market share, and most importantly, in mindshare. Many people consider eBay a place to dispose of items, but not a place to make purchases. eBay's buyer universe is shrinking; the issue is that it's not clear where it's going (it's not going to Amazon, based on my channel checks). Of course, the Skype IPO is on hold due to the P2P IP lawsuit. Yes, the crown jewel is PayPal. PayPal should be spun off; not Skype. But the heavy users of PayPal (merchants) are the most technically sophisticated, cost conscious group I know. PayPal can be beat since merchants really don't like dealing with international transactions (which is the only place where PayPal has a sustainable competitive advantage). I could go on and on - but I love eBay as a company, and I hate EBAY as a stock. [EDIT: I am a (is my registration lapsed? - I should find out) financial advisor, but I am not your financial advisor. This is not financial or investment advice, and should not be construed as such.]