6 ms·

I wonder if this deal is designed to make eBay an easier acquisition target for Amazon or Alibaba?

arielm 11y ago
Very likely considering they've also split out PayPal to make eBay more of a single-focus entity (read, easy to sell off).
- ma2rten 11y ago
  Craigslist has been in decline / shrinking for the last couple of years. I don't think it's a strong signal either way. EDIT: see http://techcrunch.com/2015/04/10/as-vertical-marketplaces-rise-craigslist-faces-its-demise/ http://techcrunch.com/2015/04/10/as-vertical-marketplaces-ri...
  - slater 11y ago
    [citation needed]
    - smitherfield 11y ago
      Well, it's definitely less popular for people looking for random sex, what with smartphone apps and all. Not sure about other things.
      - hayksaakian 11y ago
        I will tell you with very direct experience that their _monetized_ sections are growing quickly (due to more monetization in more cities), and the overall user base is growing with overall internet usage.
        bottled_poe 11y ago
        This needs citation also.
        jamescostian 11y ago
        This as well.
        hayksaakian 11y ago
        I don't have 3rd party research but I've been personally logging the names and locations of paid sections for the past two years.
pbreit 11y ago
Highly doubt it. Getting rid of the legal uncertainty is minor plus but getting rid of a possibly 10 figure holding for much less than that is a large minus.
robryan 11y ago
eBay is also currently making product identifiers (UPC/EAN etc) compulsory, another step in a long line of steps to slowly turn themselves into something more like the amazon marketplace.
- lips 11y ago
  So is anyone going to recreate the ebay of yesteryear?
  - ghaff 11y ago
    I guess the implication of eBay's shift (and the general demise of most C2C formal online "flea markets") is that it's not a great business to be in. There are probably a few factors at work. - Arguably, there was something of a fad aspect to eBay's initial rise. Yes, there were serious buyers and sellers but I also suspect it was something of a game for a lot of people who subsequently moved on to do other things. - In general, my sense is that buying/selling used goods is overall something that makes less sense today. That's a very broad brush statement but I've seen this directly in some areas with some local sports stores, for example, getting out of selling used gear. - The overall broadening on the Internet population tends to mean that anywhere scammers can scam, they will. This is harder to effectively protect against in the type of market eBay originally focused on (one-off sales of pre-owned goods that were often not standard items).
    - Hermel 11y ago
      As a very general trend, things are getting cheaper and time more expensive. Thus, the number of items that are worth reselling on eBay is shrinking.
      - ghaff 11y ago
        You have to define whose time and what type of things but I'm in broad agreement. I know I haven't sold anything on eBay in ages and, even when I did, I found the ROI pretty poor. I also note that the various services offering to sell your stuff for a cut seem to be largely gone as well. And I haven't bought anything through their traditional auction format in ages either. I don't really collect stuff and I'm not much inclined to do the auction thing when a few clicks at Amazon or Newegg will get me almost as good a deal (at minimum) for electronics for less hassle and risk.
dredmorbius 11y ago
That would also explain the Kijiji-is-big-in-Canada submarines which have been appearing lately

Very likely considering they've also split out PayPal to make eBay more of a single-focus entity (read, easy to sell off).

ma2rten 11y ago
Craigslist has been in decline / shrinking for the last couple of years. I don't think it's a strong signal either way. EDIT: see http://techcrunch.com/2015/04/10/as-vertical-marketplaces-rise-craigslist-faces-its-demise/ http://techcrunch.com/2015/04/10/as-vertical-marketplaces-ri...
- slater 11y ago
  [citation needed]
  - smitherfield 11y ago
    Well, it's definitely less popular for people looking for random sex, what with smartphone apps and all. Not sure about other things.
    - hayksaakian 11y ago
      I will tell you with very direct experience that their _monetized_ sections are growing quickly (due to more monetization in more cities), and the overall user base is growing with overall internet usage.
      - bottled_poe 11y ago
        This needs citation also.
        jamescostian 11y ago
        This as well.
        hayksaakian 11y ago
        I don't have 3rd party research but I've been personally logging the names and locations of paid sections for the past two years.

pbreit 11y ago

Highly doubt it. Getting rid of the legal uncertainty is minor plus but getting rid of a possibly 10 figure holding for much less than that is a large minus.

robryan 11y ago

eBay is also currently making product identifiers (UPC/EAN etc) compulsory, another step in a long line of steps to slowly turn themselves into something more like the amazon marketplace.

lips 11y ago
So is anyone going to recreate the ebay of yesteryear?
- ghaff 11y ago
  I guess the implication of eBay's shift (and the general demise of most C2C formal online "flea markets") is that it's not a great business to be in. There are probably a few factors at work. - Arguably, there was something of a fad aspect to eBay's initial rise. Yes, there were serious buyers and sellers but I also suspect it was something of a game for a lot of people who subsequently moved on to do other things. - In general, my sense is that buying/selling used goods is overall something that makes less sense today. That's a very broad brush statement but I've seen this directly in some areas with some local sports stores, for example, getting out of selling used gear. - The overall broadening on the Internet population tends to mean that anywhere scammers can scam, they will. This is harder to effectively protect against in the type of market eBay originally focused on (one-off sales of pre-owned goods that were often not standard items).
  - Hermel 11y ago
    As a very general trend, things are getting cheaper and time more expensive. Thus, the number of items that are worth reselling on eBay is shrinking.
    - ghaff 11y ago
      You have to define whose time and what type of things but I'm in broad agreement. I know I haven't sold anything on eBay in ages and, even when I did, I found the ROI pretty poor. I also note that the various services offering to sell your stuff for a cut seem to be largely gone as well. And I haven't bought anything through their traditional auction format in ages either. I don't really collect stuff and I'm not much inclined to do the auction thing when a few clicks at Amazon or Newegg will get me almost as good a deal (at minimum) for electronics for less hassle and risk.

dredmorbius 11y ago

That would also explain the Kijiji-is-big-in-Canada submarines which have been appearing lately