eBay Looking for Allies Against Google 216
Vitaly Friedman writes "A report in the Wall Street Journal today talks about how eBay is looking for partners to defend against the growing threat of Google. Specifically, Google Base and the payment system in the works in Mountain View are seen as possible dangers to eBay's auctions and PayPal payment operations, says the report. Google Talk just throws some salt in the wounds by looking for a toehold in Skype's turf."
Whose wounds? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Whose wounds? (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Whose wounds? (Score:2, Interesting)
Oh no! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Oh no! (Score:2)
Re:Oh no! (Score:2)
No, Microsoft has no "e" in their name because they're so Evil that they're also hiding the fact that they're horribly Evil.
Re:Oh no! (Score:2)
Re:Oh no! (Score:2)
The evil will bubble up (Score:2, Insightful)
Now Google has made their own game and a lot of people are playing it. Google is making new rules. Everybody's happy about that because they have a choice now. But the day will come when people don't want to play by eBay's, Microsoft's o
Re:The evil will bubble up (Score:2)
Google in participating in that market would not be seeking to provide a more honest market place, it would just be seeking profit growth to increase share price but the likely result would be the exact opposite because of the nature of that markets behaviour will end up damaging the brand which in turn provides for easier competition in it's other
Re:The evil will bubble up (Score:2)
MS played the game - and they won - but they didn't play fair. I read the bio - all they ever did was screw the other guy. They took the very idea of a GUI from Jobs (another programmer blurted out their secret that the cursors were handled by software, not hardware as Gates thought), they screwed IBM by originally allying with them to make OS/2, then pulling out of the project only to use the code and the UI for Windows. Th
I hope Google shit on ebay (Score:5, Insightful)
And fucking the Katrina victims out of Something Awful's donations was the straw that broke the donkey's back.
Re:I hope Google shit on ebay (Score:4, Insightful)
Seller sends defective product, drags replacing it out past the 30 day mark (so I can't get my money back no matter what) and then stops dealing with me. I checked the seller feedback and they had lots of mutual retractions, and every negative feedback they received (over a legitimate problem such as mine) was retaliated against with improper negative feedback.
I decided to leave no feedback, didn't want the strike on my record.
Re:I hope Google shit on ebay (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:I hope Google shit on ebay (Score:2)
I already have 2 paypal accounts since they charge a percentage of every transaction on my cc-enabled one.
Thank you for the advice.
Re:I hope Google shit on ebay (Score:3, Interesting)
Next you should just start selling yourself stuff and pumping your own feedback rating...of course that might look suspeicious so you'll need to open and nurture a whole network of accounts...
Once you break one rule... why not all of them ?
Re:I hope Google shit on ebay (Score:5, Funny)
Re:I hope Google shit on ebay (Score:2)
Each of those crimes you outline is separate, would be charged as separate, and you'd be convicted and punished for each of them "separately". (even if all in one trial).
The difference here is that the ToS is one "contract". Violating one term or all of them or doing it x50 has exactly the same net effect -- you trigger their reaction to cancel and ban your account(s) when they cat
Re:I hope Google shit on ebay (Score:5, Insightful)
ebay would love for me to sell myself stuff. They get $.25 + 3% + 1.25% + 4% of every transaction. I get 2 feedback points that they generate for free. Heck, if everyone did this ebay'd make a trillion dollars.
And as for breaking rules, every time something rubs me wrong I think of ways around it. They stop irritating me, I'll stop seeking a less painful path.
Re:I hope Google shit on ebay (Score:2)
Unfortunately, you can't sell yourself [ebay.com].
Re:I hope Google shit on ebay (Score:4, Informative)
No, it's not. In fact it's explicitly mentioned as acceptable [ebay.com].
Re:I hope Google shit on ebay (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:I hope Google shit on ebay (Score:2)
Quite simply, they can require the seller to post feedback before the buyer. If the buyer sent you money according to your terms, then they've done the only thing they are required to do.
As it stands, I have rarely had a seller post feedback until I have given positive first -- the one time I gave negative (since the item was no
Better yet.. (Score:2)
The only manual feedback would come from buyer's verifying whether the product they bought was as advertised and satisfactory.
- tokengeekgrrl
Re:I hope Google shit on ebay (Score:2)
Like, oh, American Red Cross and United Way, both of which take a cut for themselves?
Re:I hope Google shit on ebay (Score:2)
Re:Simple Solution (Score:2)
One good outcome of Google Payments.. (Score:5, Interesting)
Oh the joys of competition.
Interesting... (Score:5, Insightful)
So, eBay is afraid of Google.
I've heard many complaints so far about both eBay and PayPal - could it be that they feel Google's service will be beta^Hter?
So see if I care... they can get all the partners they want, but if Google rolls out a superior service, they can either adapt or go sulk in the corner.
Ally? We don't need no stinkin ally! (Score:2)
Re:Ally? We don't need no stinkin ally! (Score:2)
Re:Ally? We don't need no stinkin ally! (Score:3)
Underdog, fiscally maybe, but money was never the driving factor for OSS. In terms of a usable, alternative, stable, easy to use OS, Linux is definately no longer an underdog. (IMHO).
Re:Ally? We don't need no stinkin ally! (Score:2)
Parent was just saying that we in the OS community don't care about market share or how much money companies make off it - especially since most of us don't ever see a dime of it.
Re:Ally? We don't need no stinkin ally! (Score:2)
God forbid eBay would clean up its own act (Score:5, Insightful)
b. Penalize bulk category flooders. Some categories are filled with sellers listing the same item over and over again. They should be forced to use the bulk option.
c. 0 rated sellers should not be allowed to list without verified bank account/address info.
d. Allow sellers to set feedback threshold restrictions on buyers.
e. Finally, ebay should stop spamming its own users with "deals" and credit card offers.
Re:God forbid eBay would clean up its own act (Score:4, Funny)
Oh, good . . . I was worrying that the e-mail I responded to with my credit card and social security numbers might have been a phishing scam. Good to see that it may have really been from E-Bay after all.
Q: How do you tell a genuine E-Bay e-mail from a phishing scam?
A: The phishing scam will probably cost less!
Re:God forbid eBay would clean up its own act (Score:2)
I agree with the rest of your proposals, but if I were E-Bay, absolutely no way I would do this.
Re:God forbid eBay would clean up its own act (Score:2)
Disks are cheap. It's a helpful feature, looking for rarely-listed items to see if there is any market, get an idea of price.
Re:God forbid eBay would clean up its own act (Score:2)
Also, there could be a dozen other points (like redress for those that have been ripped off in the early days of ebay when they refused to do anything at all).
Re:God forbid eBay would clean up its own act (Score:3, Insightful)
For example lets go with wholesale lots of PCs [ebay.com]
The first 20 results are single buy laptop computers and then we have
TEKTRONIX 840 850 860 AUXILLARY 500 SHEET PAPER TRAY
100 x Antistatic Anti Static Bags ESD (6"x9")
MAKE OVER £1000 A WEEK ON EBAY (100% PROFIT)
Mystery Box Of Computers
3 more single computers.
LAPTOP REPAIR BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY
Wholesale Lots- Buy Computers and MAKE A LOT
Re:God forbid eBay would clean up its own act (Score:4, Insightful)
I received a "free listing for new sellers" offer, listed an item at too high a price, and it didn't sell. After the auction, someone who had been asking questions during the auction wrote to me to ask if I would re-list it at a lower price. E-bay would not let me respond to the question, because I had "exceeded my daily limit of messages". I never did get a straight answer about what the limit was, just that I could raise it by giving them my credit card information. I had a "conversation" with 5 or 6 different monkeys passing me boilerplate FAQ answers, but never any answers to the questions I actually asked.
One word: snipers (Score:2)
g. Get reasonable about locations. I live less than 10 miles from the Canada/USA border and have a postal address in both countrie
Well... (Score:5, Insightful)
Eventually there will be free online payment (Score:2)
Ebay Vs.Google (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Ebay Vs.Google (Score:2, Funny)
I remember when Wal-Mart was young . . . (Score:5, Interesting)
I actually was willing to learn to type "http://www.google.com" instead of "http://www.altavista.com" to search on Google; even from the outset, no other search engine came close to their level of quality (read: good search results).
Nowadays, Wal-Mart routinely grinds competition unto the dust. Woe betide the small businessman whose future neighbor is a Wal-Mart Supercenter. They're big, monopolistic, anti-competitive, predatory . . . all of the wonderfully evil traits which characterize success in our free enterpise system. This makes them fairly well hated, the price of success.
Nowadays, Google is percieved as the ultimate digital destructor - crushing internet opposition wherever it rises, brutally redefining markets and networking in that fashion most likely to lead to their own growth and the demise of competing technologies.
Either you love free enterprise or you hate it - either way, I wouldn't trust it!
Re:I remember when Wal-Mart was young . . . (Score:2, Funny)
Everything Google does is free . . . (Score:2)
Trust me, they're making money somewhere.
Re:I remember when Wal-Mart was young . . . (Score:2)
Dude, have you ever heard of a bookmark?
Oh, you kids and your bookmarks! (Score:2)
Re:I remember when Wal-Mart was young . . . (Score:2)
Yeah, that's why GMail is the world's biggest webmail service, MSN Messenger and Skype died in the face of Google Talk, Google News is the world's favourite news source...
Face it; Google's strength is in search. That's it.
Re:I remember when Wal-Mart was young . . . (Score:2)
The problem with mon
Paypal alternative? (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Paypal alternative? (Score:2)
You might be waiting a while. Google allows advertising for gambling and porn in spite of their clearly stated policy against it, but steadfastly refuses to allow advertisements for firearms/ammunition and tobacco (among other things). So, I would not be surprised in the least if Google's service would make different but equally discriminatory 'moral judgem
Re:Paypal alternative? (Score:2)
I now require two things:
- An example of an ad for gambling. Instructional material, and play money sites don't count.
- A citation for Google having a policy against Adult ("porn") ads.
thanks.
Oh. You don't have these? Oh.
Re:Paypal alternative? (Score:2)
Just search for poker. I get three ads across the top for real-money sites, and a chunk down the side.
But I don't understand why this is a big deal. Google don't have a policy on banning adverts based on what they sell. If you look at the Screened Products section in the adwords faq you'll find the phrase 'Specifically, we currently monitor the following in ad text and keywords:', not 'We do not allow...' In order w
Re:Paypal alternative? (Score:3, Informative)
Site Content
Site may not include:
* Excessive profanity
* Violence, racial intolerance, or advocate against any individual, group, or organization
* Hacking/cracking content
* Illicit drugs and drug paraphernalia
* Pornography, adult, or mature content
* Gambling or casino-related content
Now granted, this is for their AdSense program and not for AdWords, but it still
Re:Paypal alternative? (Score:2)
AdSense and AdWords are quite unrelated in this aspect.
Google opens themselves up to liability by allowing its advertisements to be shown on potentially illegal (in your region_of_choice) adult/gambling sites.
A crackdown has already begun on gambling affiliates, Google wants no part of that.
Secondly, Google does not allow gambling and adult ads to be shown in the content network. This means that
just wait (Score:5, Funny)
sniff.. (Score:2)
the answer is simple. compete. offer more, better, cheaper, faster, and easier than google does.
good luck ebay!
Ebay's UI & Search Stinks (Score:3, Interesting)
Between the cleaner UI of a bookmarking system, the tagging, and purposefully active userbase I'm hoping fyndr can put a, yeah yeah, web2.0 face on the old web1.0 beast.
Re:Ebay's UI & Search Stinks (Score:2)
Thats actually there as a preventative step against spamming your wares as everything under the sun. If they didn't do this, people would be ticked off about no category control and inaccurate product listings to a much larger degree.
Re:Ebay's UI & Search Stinks (Score:2)
For example there is a Car Audio section under Consumer Electronics and a Car Audio section under eBay Motor. People to the search in two places to find what they are looking for.
Re:Ebay's UI & Search Stinks (Score:2)
Re:Ebay's UI & Search Stinks (Score:2)
Re:Ebay's UI & Search Stinks (Score:2)
Re:Ebay's UI & Search Stinks (Score:2)
Re:Ebay's UI & Search Stinks (Score:2)
So, how exactly are you trying to improve eBay by adding an utterly horrible interface? Seriously, Web 2.0 is synonymous with weird interfaces. (And yes, the concept of throwing a hundred words into a box and making the more popular ones bigger is utterly horrible. I don't care what other people are interested in, I want to navigate to what I'm interested in. Hiding the interesting-but-unpopular links between huge words is no
Google, Destoryer of Dreams (Score:4, Informative)
Google doesnt even have to do anything anymore... the fear of Google is killing the whole tech industry. They are the online version of Walmart, crushing every business within their grasp, and forcing everyone to play by their rules.
Just ask any online business not on page 1 of a search result, if you can find one that's still in business that is.
Anything Google even might possibly copy, isn't happening at all, just like Microsoft used to do - and did very well. Google will crush everyone just as effectively in the end.
Re:Google, Destoryer of Dreams (Score:4, Insightful)
The fact of the matter is that there are more startups being funded now than any time in the past 5 years.
http://money.cnn.com/2006/03/03/technology/busine
Maybe your idea just sucked?
Re:Google, Destoryer of Dreams (Score:2)
"It just like Google, but...."
Re:Google, Destoryer of Dreams (Score:2, Insightful)
That should be a possible exit strategy . . . (Score:3, Interesting)
When they say, "Google would copy it," you say, "as soon as there's the slightest rumor of that, we offer to sell to them. If the product area stays below google's radar, we make money. If it doesn't, then we make our product good enough that they'd be better off buying us." An acquisition is generally a much more likely exit strategy than
Re:Google, Destoryer of Dreams (Score:2)
You're forgetting an important point: generally, Google's rules kick ass.
What about the advertising? (Score:4, Interesting)
A search for George Bush provides:
George Bush
Looking for George Bush?
Find exactly what you want today.
www.eBay.com
A search for Eggs provides:
Eggs
All your favorite collectibles!
Eggs and more -aff
Ebay.com
A search for Milk provides:
Milk
Save on Glass and Glassware!
Milk and more -aff
Ebay.com
In fact, I dare you to find a noun you can search for on google without coming up with an eBay add. As near as I can tell, eBay is Google's single largest advertiser. If they want to hurt google, they should start by cutting off some funding.
Re:What about the advertising? (Score:2)
Testicles. eBay does not sell testicles. Well, they don't advertise on google that they do.
Re:What about the advertising? (Score:2)
Re:What about the advertising? (Score:2)
Whatever you're looking for
you can get it on eBay.
www.eBay.com
dog (Score:2)
Re:What about the advertising? (Score:2)
Looking for Christian Death?
Find exactly what you want today.
www.eBay.com
Re:doesnt work for me (Score:2)
It's funny, I was thinking "What kind of retard would buy milk over the intarweb" and one of the google ads was for my local dairy that delivers. Must've found my zip code in a cookie somewhere. A bit creepy.
Re:doesnt work for me (Score:2)
When Doubleclick did the same exact thing they were denounced as the devil. Good thing Google can't be evil.
Re:doesnt work for me (Score:3, Interesting)
--
Plutonium
Great deals on Plutonium Shop on eBay and Save! www.eBay.com
About time (Score:3, Insightful)
Sink or swim, bitch. (Score:2)
They could perhaps try being creative for once. I haven't seen any new ideas from eBay beyond "Yeah, we can buy PayPal!" I'm personally sick of having to sift through offers of "information CDs" and "ZOMG just like the real thing only not!" to get to what I want, to the point where I think eBay could seriously use a personal blacklist feature for blocking search results from certain sellers.
If nothing else, they need to encourag
Let's See If I Understand this Correctly... (Score:2, Insightful)
Now, because Google might infringe upon it's payment system and dabble a bit in online auctions, eBay will move it's advertising focus to someone like Yahoo or MSN that wouldn't send them anywhere near the referrals they get from Google?
Anyone else besides me see that concept being a bit like tossing the baby out with the bathwater?
Don't get me wrong, I'm quite willing to admit that I am hopelessly eBay addicted. I ca
Re:I remember (Score:3, Interesting)
So, you're saying that Steve Jobs should have stated that Google, a non-existant company, was the enemy?
Re:I remember (Score:5, Funny)
Yes, if he truly was a visionary
Hey! (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Hey! (Score:2, Funny)
I don't know if I should laugh or what... be either way I feel kinda dirty.
Re:I remember (Score:5, Funny)
echo hell no >>
grep -v no
Re:I remember (Score:2)
He was right, he's just about 30 years off. Wait 8 years to see why 2014 *will* be like '1984'.
Re:I remember (Score:3)
Why, oh why can't the future be like Brave New World instead? Seriously, I find nothing at all wrong with happy drugs, mindless orgies on a weekly basis and 50-60 years of youth.
Re:I for one welcome our Google payment overlords (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:I for one welcome our Google payment overlords (Score:4, Informative)
Apart from the usual barrage of reasons to not like paypal [paypalsucks.com], they are hokey in exactly the same way as an AOL email. Anyone can get one, no technical or professional qualifications needed. It's impossible to seem in any way ahead of your competition with a system that a teenager can sign up for in ten minutes.
Re:I for one welcome our Google payment overlords (Score:3, Interesting)
There are plenty of things out there that anyone can get, but don't seem as hokey as PayPal. gmail accounts, myspace accounts (in the right context), etc.. It has more to do with the kind of people that are involved in using the service. The vast majority of individuals using AOL are not regarded by the rest of us as very bright. They are either paying way too much for dial-up, or adding AOL costs to their broadband.
I think Pay
Re:Shouldn't be hard. (Score:2)
Re:Shouldn't be hard. (Score:2)
Re:Ahah! (Score:2)
Put your commando team somewhere outside the USA, Great Britain or Japan. Poof - you're invisible!