

Ebay: Like Amazon, only more profitable? - cwan
http://online.barrons.com/article/SB124908011423898035.html?page=sp#mod=BOL_hpp_highlight

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sachinag
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.]

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icefox
What do you run?

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sachinag
<http://www.dawdle.com> \- it's an online marketplace platform. Until we get
funding, we'll just play in our current video games, systems, and accessories
niche. But we know exactly what happens with cash. It'd be fun to try.

~~~
icefox
Nice site, Having a niche isn't a bad thing though. You can customize your
site optimally for your target, something that ebay can't do.

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vaksel
eBay won't die, its a giant with huge marketshare, even if their business
tanks, they'll be like Yahoo, with a 20% marketshare due to legacy users.

However, if I was to bet on company growth in the next 10 years, I'd bet on
Amazon.

