Is It Time For eBay To Sell Their Auction Business?

IS IT TIME FOR EBAY TO SELL THEIR AUCTION BUSINESS?
April 30th, 2010 by Skip McGrath

At eBay’s annual meeting, CEO John Donohoe said that auctions now make up less than half of all listings on the site. And he predicted it would drop to 30% by 2011. Just a few years ago, auctions made up around 70 percent of the listings on the site but in the last quarter they were only 45 percent.

This is not by accident. Since Donohoe took over, eBay has made a concerted effort to look more like Amazon, attract large merchants and focus their growth on fixed price selling.The very nature of the auction business is that it only works when there is a sense of community and a shared passion between buyers and sellers. Those are the traits that made eBay successful. And, these are the same traits that eBay has assiduously tried to kill over the last few years since Donohoe arrived. Actually it started somewhat before Donohoe took over, but has accelerated under his leadership (or should I say lack of leadership).

See entire article at: Skip McGrath

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