EBay Inc. said Tuesday it plans to split off Skype, the Internet telephone service, through an initial public offering to be completed in the first half of 2010.
With the market dipping back below November lows, it feels a bit mean-spirited to be picking on any single company, but please - what has happened to eBay?
Back in 2000, shares of eBay, best known for its online auctions, hit a price-to-earnings ratio of 2,700, and were the darlings of growth investors everywhere. These days the company's shares have a new valuation about 1/300th of its old peak - its P/E is a lowly 9 based on next year's earnings - and a decidedly different fanbase. Grantham Mayo's Jeremy Grantham, Mason Hawkins of the Longleaf Partners Fund and Ariel Capital's John Rogers all have long-term track records for picking stocks that outperform the market, and all three have recently been buying eBay shares for their clients' portfolios. "This is a classic growth stock at a value price," says Ariel's chief investment officer Charlie Bobrinskoy.
I admit, I'm pretty much a walking gender stereotype -- I like shopping, getting pedicures, grabbing drinks with the girls after work, obsessing about my hair, and lusting over other woman's awesome boots. I also hate when models brag about how they can eat anything without gaining an ounce, and I have an unhealthy addiction to gossip sites, but that may be taking it a bit too far.
Ever since eBay announced significant fee and feedback changes earlier this year, angry sellers have complained that eBay's new policies would destroy the businesses of some of its longtime merchants. This week, eBay CEO John J. Donahoe confirmed that those charges are true.
In its mere five years of existence the word "Skype" has taken on an unusual dual meaning in the Internet world - known equally as a stunningly successful example of consumer adoption and a dealmaking flop of multibillion-dollar proportions.
Shares of major Web companies dropped sharply Monday amid a massive market sell-off that sent the Dow skidding below 10,000 for the first time in four years
The auction site operator said Monday it will cut about 1,600 jobs -- 10% of its work force -- in its largest round of dismissals ever
The world's largest auction Web site, eBay Inc., announced Monday that it will cut 10% of its global workforce, or about 1,000 employees, citing efforts to streamline its business.
A weeklong eBay boycott initiated by sellers upset with fee and policy changes that began rolling out last week ended Monday with uncertain results.
EBay Inc. said Tuesday it plans to split off Skype, the Internet telephone service, through an initial public offering to be completed in the first half of 2010.
With the market dipping back below November lows, it feels a bit mean-spirited to be picking on any single company, but please - what has happened to eBay?
Back in 2000, shares of eBay, best known for its online auctions, hit a price-to-earnings ratio of 2,700, and were the darlings of growth investors everywhere. These days the company's shares have a new valuation about 1/300th of its old peak - its P/E is a lowly 9 based on next year's earnings - and a decidedly different fanbase. Grantham Mayo's Jeremy Grantham, Mason Hawkins of the Longleaf Partners Fund and Ariel Capital's John Rogers all have long-term track records for picking stocks that outperform the market, and all three have recently been buying eBay shares for their clients' portfolios. "This is a classic growth stock at a value price," says Ariel's chief investment officer Charlie Bobrinskoy.
I admit, I'm pretty much a walking gender stereotype -- I like shopping, getting pedicures, grabbing drinks with the girls after work, obsessing about my hair, and lusting over other woman's awesome boots. I also hate when models brag about how they can eat anything without gaining an ounce, and I have an unhealthy addiction to gossip sites, but that may be taking it a bit too far.
Ever since eBay announced significant fee and feedback changes earlier this year, angry sellers have complained that eBay's new policies would destroy the businesses of some of its longtime merchants. This week, eBay CEO John J. Donahoe confirmed that those charges are true.
In its mere five years of existence the word "Skype" has taken on an unusual dual meaning in the Internet world - known equally as a stunningly successful example of consumer adoption and a dealmaking flop of multibillion-dollar proportions.
Shares of major Web companies dropped sharply Monday amid a massive market sell-off that sent the Dow skidding below 10,000 for the first time in four years
The auction site operator said Monday it will cut about 1,600 jobs -- 10% of its work force -- in its largest round of dismissals ever
The world's largest auction Web site, eBay Inc., announced Monday that it will cut 10% of its global workforce, or about 1,000 employees, citing efforts to streamline its business.
A weeklong eBay boycott initiated by sellers upset with fee and policy changes that began rolling out last week ended Monday with uncertain results.
During her speech at the Republican National Convention, vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin said she tried to slash Alaska's budget by putting the state jet up for sale on eBay.
Course materials can cost students hundreds of dollars a semester. But there are often cheaper options from overseas
The online auction operator is launching WorldofGood.com to sell goods produced with social and environmental goals in mind
Some people who sell things on eBay are fed up with new rules the company has been imposing in hopes of making the auction site more attractive to online shoppers
Donna D'Errico's mementos from her marriage to the Motley Crue bassist are being sold online
The online auction company eBay Inc. said Wednesday it is in talks to buy a minority stake in the South Korean online marketplace operator Gmarket
Tiffany & Co. challenged Monday a federal ruling that largely absolved eBay Inc. of policing its auction site for counterfeit items, saying the judge was wrong to leave the primary burden to the jewelry maker
In response to complaints from its merchants, eBay is tweaking the controversial feedback policy it unveiled this spring. Starting next month, neutral ratings will no longer negatively impact users' feedback ratings; eBay will also allow buyers to withdrawal negative marks once a dispute with a seller is resolved. But the most controversial part of eBay's changes - blocking sellers from leaving any rating but a positive one for their buyers - is here to stay, eBay executives say.
A judge said Monday that companies such as jeweler Tiffany & Co. are responsible for policing their trademarks online, not auction platforms like eBay
The online behemoth must pay $63 million in damages, after agreeing that the site had facilitated the sale of counterfeit versions of its high-end products
Craigslist is the online classifieds behemoth in the U.S., but there's some other savvy companies circling these listings
The controversial new feedback policy eBay announced in January is slated to start taking effect on Monday, removing sellers' ability to leave neutral or negative feedback for their buyers.
Improving the buyer experience is the core of eBay's growth strategy. The auction site is betting on Best Match, a new default search algorithm, to deliver. But the new system has left many sellers confused and angry.
In a move that pits two of the Internet's most popular sites against each other, EBay Inc. sued Craigslist on Tuesday, alleging the classifieds company unfairly tried to dilute the online auctioneer's stake in it.
The fee and policy changes that drove sellers to boycott eBay in February are here to stay, eBay CEO John Donahoe made clear on a call with analysts on Wednesday following eBay's first-quarter earnings report.
Sensitive and stolen U.S. military items are being sold on eBay and Craigslist, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office.
More than 1,000 gallons of blood plasma stored at the wrong temperature. A shipment of smoke-scented coffins. A railcar full of beef lungs. A hundred thousand damaged doorway peepholes.
In the uproar within eBay's merchant ranks over the site's upcoming fee and policy changes, one complaint dominated discussions: the charge that the company doesn't respond to the feedback and opinions of its sellers.
Monday marked the start of a week-long eBay boycott organized by sellers outraged at the auction site's recent fee and policy changes - an effort whose success will be hard to gauge until later in the week.
Activists opposed to eBay's upcoming fee and policy changes are readying for a weeklong site boycott starting on Monday, with buyers and sellers waiting to see if this strike will succeed where past protests have failed.
Editor's note: This story was originally published Feb. 8 and is being updated to add links to follow-up stories.
Ever since eBay announced changes to its feedback rules and fee structure last week, sellers have been irate, exploding onto message boards and blogs with discussions about how the new policies will affect their businesses. But when the idea of a strike was floated, some sellers and buyers decided to get more organized about expressing their displeasure.
Editor's note: This story was originally published Jan. 30; it is being republished to add links to follow-up stories.
In the online auction space, "eBay" is a verb. Since launching in 1995, eBay has been the online marketplace for people seeking to unload or pick up anything and everything.
Dear FSB: We have a website (sellmyinventory.com) that is designed to help retail and wholesale business owners reduce or liquidate excess merchandise. Although our traffic has been growing of late, we haven't been able to target likely customers as precisely as we would wish. Any suggestions?
U.S. stock futures slipped early Thursday after a disappointing outlook from eBay cast a cloud over the tech sector and investors awaited another batch of corporate earnings.
EBay announced Wednesday that, as expected, chief executive Meg Whitman will be stepping down on March 31st.
Two online retail companies gave positive reports on the first days of the Thanksgiving weekend, saying sales were up significantly in the traditional holiday kickoff period from a year earlier.
Dear FSB: My friend and I are getting a small online T-shirt business off the ground. We plan to sell our products on eBay and advertise by wearing our products and passing out business cards and fliers. Can you offer any other suggestions?
A week before eBay's earnings announcement, the Internet auction giant rolled out its latest feature designed to bring users back to the old neighborhood. Think of it as eBay meets Facebook.
It's not a social networking site and it no longer gets the buzz of, say, Google, but eBay has quietly grown to become a giant.
The Samwer brothers never been shy about borrowing ideas. The first company the Cologne-born trio founded was a German-language version of eBay. Later, as venture capitalists, they invested in European startups that were direct knockoffs of YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.
Even this far into the digital age, one vital part of business remains stubbornly analog: the legal contract. Almost every corporate obligation and partnership requires reams of paper and at least a couple of lawyers. Internet-based, do-it-yourself contracts tend to be relegated to the level of eBay sales - and even they are notoriously difficult to enforce if something goes awry.
Red Sox star David Ortiz and his team better hope that what happened during the eBay auction for his car isn't an omen for what is going to happen to the team's lead in its pennant race.
Buy.com is looking to steal some customers from eBay with a new shopping service for online hangouts like Facebook
eBay Inc. disclosed on Friday that Germany's top court ruled several months ago that the world's largest online auctioneer must do more to halt the sale of counterfeit goods on its site.
You've spent years pinching pennies to pay for Junior's college tuition. But now that he's heading off to campus, you're about to be hit with some other bills. You may expect to pay for textbooks, but watch out for the pizza bill and bar tab. Here's what you can do to cut these college costs.
Online auctioneer eBay on Wednesday reported second-quarter profits and sales that beat Wall Street's estimates, boosted by its auctions and PayPal payment businesses.
While Paris Hilton shakes off memories of her recent jail stay by vacationing in Hawaii, her trash is making money - for other people.
Undeterred after a seemingly winning eBay bid of nearly $10 million fell through, the owner of the "General Lee" decided to try again.
Even though Wal-Mart and eBay share much of the same customer base, eBay CEO Meg Whitman said Wednesday that she's not worried that record-high gas prices and the housing slump pose any significant threats to the company's business.
How about tea with Nelson Mandela? Or perhaps you would like to spend the afternoon chatting with Archbishop Desmond Tutu? Or maybe, you would just like to hang out with Virgin boss Richard Branson on his game farm in South Africa?
Efforts to protect endangered African elephants from the threat of extinction are being undermined by a burgeoning ivory smuggling network run by Asian crime gangs and by a "rampant trade" in illegal ivory on auction Web sites such as eBay, according to two new reports.
The General Lee is going back for another run.
After commanding a winning bid last week of nearly $10 million, the online auction of a 1969 Charger, owned by one of the stars of the "Dukes of Hazzard" television show, has blown a gasket.
Amazon.com, the world's largest e-tailer, is expanding a program designed to allow independent sellers - including those on eBay - to use its network of distribution centers to store and ship their products, according to a report published Friday.
A bell tolled every 22 seconds, silence lasted for 10 minutes and then a thousand balloons filled the sky Monday over the Virginia Tech campus as the university remembered the 32 victims of last Monday's shooting rampage.
Investigators are examining the computer and cell phone of the woman believed to have been the first victim of the Virginia Tech massacre, as well as an eBay account the gunman may have used.
The gas grill that Manny Ramirez now says was a friend's is no longer for sale on eBay. But that got us here at the 10 Spot thinking. Here are some eBay auctions that we'd like to see.
U.S. stock markets opened mixed Thursday, with tech issues edging up on promising reports from eBay and Qualcomm and blue chips hurt by Ford's record annual loss.
Online auction site eBay reported earnings that rose 24 percent from the year-ago quarter, beating analysts' estimates.
Online auctioneer eBay is starting to face some criticism from Wall Street as its growth rate cools off and competition from the likes of Google and Yahoo! increases.
Meg Whitman, CEO and President of eBay, ranks No. 3 on Fortune's 2006 list of 50 Most Powerful Women.
Meg Whitman is waiting in her personal meeting room at eBay's headquarters in San Jose, otherwise known as the Blondie room. It is eBay's corny tradition for a top manager's peers, or, in her case,...
QUESTION: I am an eBay seller, and I work at home. In preparing my taxes, my accountant surprised me by suggesting I deduct as business expenses things like the newspaper and a portion of the cable bill.
Stocks could have a hard time getting back on track Monday despite lower oil prices as investors look ahead to a number of key economic reports.
Facing a $345 billion tax gap, the Internal Revenue Service has set its sights on a new target - the rapidly expanding world of online business.
With more than $45 billion in yearly gross merchandise sales, eBay's virtual marketplace has attracted many small business owners who have traded in their brick and mortar shops for the virtual marketplace.
Small-business owners have discovered that they don't need a store to have success.
Q. My three daughters-in-law all sell stuff on eBay. One of them actually made $10,000 last year. But none are paying taxes on the money they take in from online auctions. Is that legal?
Any list of the most important people in business has to start with Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and a bunch of folks named Walton, right? They're the richest people on the planet, for Pete's sake. ...
At last week's Brainstorm conference, organized by FORTUNE Magazine and the Aspen Institute, a profusion of voices from many fields spoke up on a surprising range of subjects, all under the rubric of our theme "Life in a Connected World."
eBay may need to put in a bid on a new successor for chief executive officer Meg Whitman.
Three years ago, Force 10 networks faced a bleak future. Telecoms, the major customers for its high-speed data switches, were collapsing. Then Google ordered a batch of switches for a major expansion of its data centers - and has been buying ever since. "It put the company on the path to the big time," says Gary Morgenthaler, general partner at Morgenthaler Ventures, an investor in Force 10. The startup is reported to have hit $60 million in revenue in 2005 and is expected to file for an IPO soon.
The debate over Internet content regulations ultimately comes down to one issue: Who'll pay for the billion-dollar upgrades required for tomorrow's Internet?
All Web sites are alike. Regardless of their owners, they can all do the same set of things. In that fact lies the profound crisis facing all aspects of the media industry.
THREE YEARS AGO, FORCE 10 NETWORKS FACED A bleak future. Telecoms, the major customers for its high-speed data switches, were collapsing. Then Google ordered a batch of switches for a major expansi...
Yahoo! and eBay announced a strategic partnership Thursday to provide services to each others' customers.
Like millions of people before him, Greg Boesel devoured The Da Vinci Code in a matter of days. After turning the final page, he faced a dilemma: He didn't really want to keep the book, but he want...
Online auction house eBay is discussing potential partnerships with Yahoo and Microsoft in response to a growing Google threat, according to a report published Friday.
Online auctioneer eBay Inc. posted lower quarterly earnings Wednesday, sending shares down 5 percent in after-hours trading.
The tech investor is a fickle beast.
If you want to buy or sell a car on the Web, watch where you turn. Experts say Internet scam artists are targeting just about every site out there, from eBay to Autotrader, where cars are often bought and sold sight unseen.
Patent law, still focused more on razorblades than cellphones, may get a dramatic update if the Supreme Court weighs in after hearing oral arguments March 29 in eBay v. MercExchange. "It's an extre...
There was feverish buying of tickets for Britain's V Festival Friday, with tickets being offered on eBay for up to £615 ($1,075) a pair -- nearly three times their face value -- within hours of them going on sale.
Like many mom-and-pop teams that sell on eBay, Cheryl and Gary Casper started with stuff lying around the house--baby clothes, old toys, even VHS copies of Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty that their daughters were still watching. "I was ripping them out of their hands," Cheryl says. "I was, like, 'I'll buy it for you on DVD.'"
Like many mom-and-pop teams that sell on eBay, Cheryl and Gary Casper started with stuff lying around the house--baby clothes, old toys, even VHS copies of Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty that their...
For most of its existence, eBay has enjoyed a virtual monopoly, if not an "Eliot Spitzer wants to talk" sort of monopoly. It now commands more than 90 percent of the online auction market, and from...
For most of its existence, eBay has enjoyed a virtual monopoly, if not an Eliot Spitzer wants to talk sort of monopoly. It now commands more than 90 percent of the online auction market, and from 1999 to 2004 it posted at least 40 percent annual profit growth every year, even as brawny competitors like Amazon and Yahoo were taking runs at its core business.
A bogus watering can has been removed from eBay following complaints from the group that tried to rescue the Thames River whale -- and then put its own genuine watering can online.
Is too much holiday booty and not enough cold hard cash your problem? Perhaps selling some of your stuff at auction would help take some pressure off.
Stocks ended their two-day losing streak Thursday after an upbeat outlook from Advanced Micro Devices and better-than-expected results from eBay helped the market shrug off rising oil prices.
EBay hopes the merchants who peddle their wares on its Web site will embrace Skype, the online calling service it bought recently, but some of the auction site's top merchants say they have no plans to use it as a sales tool.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - It's that most wonderful time of the year...time to go bargain hunting online for presents! So here's our musical tribute to that new 21st Century tradition, Cyber Monday.
Pierre Omidyar, 38, is one of the world's richest idealists. With stock in eBay worth $8.4 billion, the founder of the auction giant and his wife, Pam, are starting to give money away. In early Nov...
Meg rules again.
What looks to be shaping up as a strong earnings season still has Wall Street scared to death.
Stocks showed signs of weakness Thursday after a caution on upcoming results from companies reporting strong third quarters raised more concerns about furture earnings strength.
Shares of eBay tumbled about 6 percent in after-hours trading Wednesday after the online auction site reported third-quarter results in line with forecasts but issued guidance for the current quarter that disappointed Wall Street.
EVEN FOR A BUSINESS BUILT AROUND oddball purchases, the decision by eBay to acquire the free voice-over-Internet company Skype--for as much as $4.1 billion--in mid-September appears at first to be ...
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