The iPhone on eBay for $21 million Buy It Now or Best Offer

If you’ve been anywhere near the internet this weekend, you’ll know that the iPhone has launched in the States, to general applause, love and drooling. As usual with the hyped launch of any new gadget, there’s been a rush of eBay-related stories; as far as I can see, these are about evenly split between iPhones going crazy on eBay and iPhones not going crazy on eBay.

What seems pretty clear is that there is plenty of supply: as of this moment, there are over 8500 phones for sale, and auctions seem to be ending around the $650 – $700 mark, hardly a huge profit on the $599 retail price. The days of sellers retiring on the profits of one desirable gadget are, I fear, over; though for the imaginative, there is still plenty of interest to be found. One seller who’s used the spin to his advantage, advertising his phone as $21 million Buy It Now or Best Offer, has had 138 offers… all of which he’s turned down. Russell Shaw called this “hey look at me marketing”, and I’m sure we’ll see plenty more of it in the future.

Then there’s the woman who paid $800 to be at the front of the queue so she could grab the store’s entire stock to sell on eBay… only to find that there was a one phone per customer policy. Oops. Always read the small print.

Originl post by Sue from tamebay.com

eBay Back On Google

According to Reuters, eBay will soon restart their advertising on Google but according to Hani Dursy an eBay spokesman “I will tell you it will be in a much more limited way than it was before.”

According to the report, eBay plans to reduce its exposure on Google and expand to other advertising vehicles: ” Instead, eBay plans to rely to a greater degree of competing advertising systems from Yahoo Inc., Microsoft Corp.’s MSN, Time Warner Inc.’sAOL, and IAC/InterActiveCorp’s Ask.com.

eBay said the ads should start reappearing on Google sometime today (6-22-07). The AP has a much more through article about this situation.

I guess you could give round #1 to eBay in this battle of Internet Titans but this drama is certainly not over.

PayPal Introduced Security Key at eBay Live!

PayPal’s President, Rejiv Dutta has introduced the PayPal Security Key for its customers at the eBay Live Conference in Boston.

The key is a small electronic token that creates a new security code about every 30 seconds. Members can use the code, along with their user name and password, to access their eBay and PayPal accounts. The key is designed to keep unauthorized users from accessing accounts.

“We’ve had a tremendously positive response to the PayPal Security Key beta program and are excited to make the device generally available,” said Michael Barrett, chief information security officer at PayPal.

“While PayPal.com remains a trusted and secure environment, the PayPal Security Key allows customers to take their privacy and security into their own hands to help protect their eBay and PayPal accounts against unauthorized access.”

The PayPal Security Key is part of the VeriSign Identity Protection (VIP) Network. Consumers can use the key to protect themselves on a variety of financial services and e-commerce Web sites.

“Through the VIP Network, eBay and PayPal members will be able to use their PayPal Security Key to protect their account data at other participating sites and thereby reduce online fraud and cyber crime,” said Fran Rosch, vice president, Authentication Services, VeriSign.

The PayPal security Key has a one-time fee of $5.00 for PayPal and eBay account holders in the U.S. The key will be available in Germany and Australia with more countries to be added later.

CNET Webware awards eBay, Skype, PayPal and Stumbleupon

From more than 5,000 nominations Webware’s editors shortlisted 250 finalists. Users of Webware.com voted for the top 100 Webware sites for 2007.eBay companies were well represented across many categories:
Productivity and Commerce: eBay, PayPal and Craigslist
Communications: Skype
Browsing: Stumbleupon

With Meg looking to the future the Community and Entertainment categories are awards eBay will want to win in the future!

eBay Developers Conference 2007

Welcome to the 2007 eBay Developers Conference.

The lights dim and the spotlight shines on Max Mancini, eBay Senior Director of Product Management. He takes center stage, gives us a brief summary of the conference, and introduces John Donahoe, President of eBay. Last year it was the power of three. This year, John wants everyone walking away knowing three things:

1. Developers are vital to eBay’s success
2. eBay is investing a lot to help make developers successful
3. There’s rich economic opportunity to be developer

Overview

eBay is dedicated to “connecting people through commerce”:eBay

• 233 million eBay users
• 588 million listings in Q1 2007
• $14.28 billion gross merchandise value in Q1 2007

PayPal

• 143 million PayPal Accounts
• $11.36 billion in total payment volume
• Represents 6% of total global eCommerce
• 40% of PayPal’s business is off eBay

Skype

• 196 million Skype Users
• 9.2 billion call minutes Q1 2007
• 4.4% of the world’s long distance

For developers

eBay

• 50,000 eBay developers
• 4800 Live Applications
• 4.4 Billion API calls per month
• 25% of all global eBay listings through 3rd parties

PayPal

• 260,000 PayPal developers
• 40,000 PayPal integrations for online merchants
• 89% of PayPal merchants rely on developers

Skype

• 4,000 Skype developers
• 190 cert hardware products
• 100’s of apps

eBay’s goal is to improve user experience, increase engagement by using innovative applications and expand the eBay market. And this year’s eBay Developer Conference has over 50 sessions available with new tools and services along with150 employees to help developers create and monetize great apps.

Adobe Air

Kevin Lynch, Chief Software Architect of Adobe and former colleague of Pierre Omidyar, comes on stage. He shows us the future of computing. It started with the mainframe. Then Client/Server. Next came Web Application. And now computing is moving to the next phase.

Rich internet applications are a blending of client/server rich features with the internet. They will create richer, more engaging ways to communicate with users.

Kevin then shows a demo of Adobe Air, including the apps: Flppr, SalesForce.com. Buzzword, FineTune, and Time Tracker. All of them blend the best of the web with best of desktop and create an engaging branded desktop experience For more information, go to www.adoble.com/go/air

eBay San Dimas

Alan Lewis, eBay Product Manager for Project San Dimas walks on. San Dimas is an eBay desktop application built on Adobe Air with a radically different design. It allows users to quickly switch through items, along with expanded keyword search features and provides the full experience of eBay without going to eBay.com
PayPal

Mathew Mengerink, VP Core Technologies of PayPal greets the audience and reminds developers that PayPal lets them plug into

• 143 Million PayPal Accounts
• 190 Markets
• 17 Currencies
• $38B Total Payment Volumes 2006
• New Large Merchants include Barnes & Noble, Avon, FTD, MTV and Discovery Channel
• 260.000 registered PayPal Developers
• 9,000 new members each month
• 40,000 PayPal integrations

Acceptance of PayPal is growing enormously:

• Overall eCommerce is growing 15% per year
• PayPal processes about 10% of eCommerce (excluding travel)
• PayPal growing at 31% annually
• Added 10 million new accounts in Q1 2007
• Future Developer Program Enhancements

PayPal is dedicated to helping developers build solutions by offering:

• Certification Program-lifting payment recognition to same level as PayPal
• More tools and processes
  • Name Value Pair
  • Mobile API
  • Many more platforms to come

PayPal is also dedicated to connecting to developers with

• Education and Content
• Marketing Programs
• Online Community—blogs

Skype

Paul Amery from Skype comes on to tell us about good craic. Good craic is good conversation and Skype is all about good conversation. Coming to Skype:

• Extras Manager
• Dedicated games developer channel
  • Impressive games coming in the next few months
• Expanded and professionalized software certification and support

Where to next?

Google Checkout Team Inviting eBay Live! attendees

Google Checkout is reaching out to eBay sellers. Google has posted on the GoogleCheckout blog, they are inviting people who are attending eBay Live! in Boston to join them at the Google Checkout Freedom Party on Thursday night (6/14). To get to the party, just hop on the classic Beantown trolley in front of the Boston Convention Center and follow the freedom trail to the Old South Meeting House. The same spot where revolutionaries launched the Boston Tea Party to celebrate freedom with free food, free drinks, free live music — even free massages. Join us and bring a friend. RSVP here.

What is San Dimas – eBay Developer’s conference

eBay’s Alan Lewis and Adam Trachtenberg talk about news coming out of this week’s Developer’s conference in Boston. What is Project San Dimas? What’s up with eBay Web Services? Alan and Adam put the technical news in perspective for developers, buyers and sellers alike. Run time: 09:04

About eBay – The eBay Company

eBay Inc. pioneers communities built on commerce, sustained by trust, and inspired by opportunity. eBay brings together millions of people every day on a local, national and international basis through an array of websites that focus on commerce, payments and communications.

The eBay Marketplace
The eBay Marketplace creates a powerful online platform for the sale of goods and services by a passionate community of individuals and small businesses. On any given day, there are millions of items available through auction-style and fixed-price trading. With millions of buyers and sellers worldwide, eBay offers localized sites in the following markets.

Asia Pacific: Europe: North America: Australia Austria Canada China Belgium United States Hong Kong France   India Germany   Malaysia Ireland   New Zealand Italy   Philippines Netherlands   Singapore Poland   South Korea Spain   Taiwan Sweden     Switzerland     United Kingdom

In addition, eBay has a presence in Latin America through its investment in MercadoLibre. PayPal
Founded in 1998 and acquired by eBay Inc. in October 2002, PayPal enables any individual or business with an email address to securely, easily and quickly send and receive payments online. PayPal’s service builds on the existing financial infrastructure of bank accounts and credit cards and uses the world’s most advanced proprietary fraud prevention systems to create a safe payment solution. A global leader in online payment solutions, PayPal has tens of millions of registered accounts and is accepted by millions of merchants worldwide, on and off eBay.

Skype
Skype is the world’s fastest-growing Internet communication offering, allowing people everywhere to make unlimited voice and video communication for free between the users of Skype software. Skype is available in 27 languages and is used in almost every country around the world. Skype generates revenue through its premium offerings such as making and receiving calls to and from landline and mobile phones, voicemail, call forwarding and personalization including ringtones and avatars. Skype also has relationships with a growing network of hardware and software providers. Skype was acquired by eBay Inc. in October 2005.

Shopping.com
Shopping.com pioneered online comparison shopping and is one of the fastest growing shopping destinations on the Internet. With millions of products, thousands of merchants and millions of reviews from the Epinions community, Shopping.com empowers consumers to make informed choices and, as a result, drives value for merchants. Shopping.com has sites in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Australia and was acquired by eBay Inc. in August 2005.

Rent.com
The most visited online apartment listing service in the United States, Rent.com has more than 20,000 properties listed across the country. Rent.com’s service is available to renters as well as property owners and managers in most American cities. Rent.com provides extensive information about apartments, including availability, rental rates, virtual tours, roommate searches, and links to moving resources. Rent.com was acquired by eBay Inc. in February 2005.

Online Classifieds
Designed to help people meet, share ideas and trade on a local level, eBay Inc.’s online classifieds websites are available in hundreds of cities and regions around the world. eBay’s classifieds sites include Kijiji, Gumtree.com, LoQUo.com, Intoko, Netherlands-based Marktplaats.nl, and German automotive classifieds site mobile.de. In addition, eBay owns a minority investment in craigslist.

eBay top in the world for privacy – Google worst

In a report due out today eBay joins the BBC and Wikipedia as some of the best companies in watchdog group Privacy International’s latest report. They are rated as “generally privacy-aware” along with Last.fm and LiveJournal, although this isn’t the top grade available which no company attained.

Google were alone in being awarded the worst possible grade given to companies with “comprehensive consumer surveillance and entrenched hostility to privacy.” None of the other twenty-two companies in the survey which included both Yahoo and Microsoft sunk that low. According to Privacy International, Google has already embarked on a smear campaign to discredit and the report and the group.

Google is already under pressure to tighten up on privacy matters in the US and Europe and has recently agreed to only keep search information for two years. The latest report suggests that they still have a long way to go in this area. eBay however recently updated their privacy policy and it seems their efforts meet with approval, at least from Privacy International.

eBay Says Online Retailers Need To Innovate

In a presentation at the Internet Retailer Conference and Exhibition in San Jose, Gary Briggs, chief marketing officer at eBay said online retailers should think more outside the box.

“Online retail is rapidly maturing but we are not doing enough to innovate,” Mr. Briggs said. “I am offering a call to action to the industry to innovate more.”

Mr.Briggs pointed out that online spending is often less than traditional retail spending. He also said retailers need to create their own ideas and mimic what others have done.

“There is a lot more to offer than just free shipping,” Mr. Briggs said. “Free shipping is important but when I go to Web sites and look at how the marketing is done, there has to be more than free shipping to compete.”

Mr. Briggs said that brands should give up control and listen more to the consumer in order to innovate.

He cited the example of eBay Motors. eBay saw that users were selling cars on the site but a category did not exist. Users were listing cars in categories like toys, and sales were not increasing. Since the addition of eBay Motors, the online retailer has sold 2.5 million cars a year.

“Our system of innovation is more than what is inside the four walls of our company,” Mr. Briggs said. “We are trying to let the users help us shape how we create our Web site and offer products to customers.”