posted on May 25, 2001 04:15:44 PM new
eBay, Half.com to Combine Sites
By BRIAN BERGSTEIN, AP Business Writer
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Features of eBay and Half.com, an eBay-owned Web site that offers products at set prices, will be combined over the next year, executives said at the company's annual meeting Friday.
EBay chief executive and president Meg Whitman said it didn't make sense to have eBay and Half.com remain separate platforms, with users having different identities and reputations on each site.
She said Half would be moved ``onto the eBay platform.'' EBay spokesman Kevin Pursglove later said she didn't mean Half would cease to exist as a separate site, just that technologies specific to each site would be incorporated by the other.
For example, Whitman said people find that eBay has a more user-friendly interface than Half, while selling products on Half.com is much easier. Sellers on Half.com can upload information about products from their numbered bar codes, while eBay users have to write out descriptions of the items they're listing.
Of course, items in many of eBay's most popular categories, such as art and antiques, do not have bar codes, which would make the Half.com method impossible. But Whitman recently told The Associated Press that ``you will see some technology transfer (from Half to eBay) over time.''
EBay's head of technology, Maynard Webb, said his staff - and the outside developers in the company's initiative to link its trading platform to other sites - are already working on ways to integrate Half into eBay.
Whitman confirmed Friday that eBay plans to begin offering sellers ``storefronts,'' entire pages to themselves, in the next quarter. The move has been expected for months.
She also said in response to a shareholder's question that eBay has a ``significant lobbying effort for a company our size'' aimed at persuading Congress to keep Internet commerce free of new taxes.
If the government were to impose a special sales tax on e-commerce transactions, Whitman said she doesn't believe it necessarily would ``fundamentally change the marketplace on eBay.''
Whitman she added that she would not want eBay to be responsible for cataloging and reporting tax information on the millions of transactions it facilitates.
Shares of eBay lost $1.06 to $62.20 on the Nasdaq Stock Market.
posted on May 25, 2001 04:48:29 PM new
reddear & toke: uhm.... if you decide to sign up at SellYourItem.Com could ya remember me when it comes time for the referral credits? *wink*
Hmmm.... I wonder what it's gonna be... "eBay & Half" or "Half of eBay".... either one sounds like a catchy 'BRAND', eh?
posted on May 25, 2001 04:55:08 PM new
LOL, Dottie...
These sites need some work. I listed at ePier, and all the hits are mine! I'll keep plugging tho...no way do I want eBay in my business. Period. As I said on the Greenie thread, I'm SELF-employed. I want autonomy.
posted on May 25, 2001 05:12:58 PM new
toke: I actually called the telephone number on the home page of ePier today. LOL
James answered the phone the first time after about 6 or 7 rings, right about the time an answering machine picked up. NO MENTION of ePier.
When the answering machine was turned off...
He said "hello... who is this?" and I said "who is THIS?" right back and he hung up the phone on me! *too funny*
So, being a glutton for punishment and even MORE curious, I called back again... and again he answered (but sooner) "hello?"... and I said "Don't hang up the phone!!... is this ePier?" *giggle*
Anyway... we had a little chat and I couldn't get any direct answers out of him other than they are all fresh out of college and are interested in providing excellent customer service. (really? is that why he hung up on me?) *sigh*
I was about to list some more items there and decided to just go ahead and keep uploadimg stuff to SYI for now instead.
I also listed some more items on eBay... but currently I have less listed on eBay than SellYourItem and I have BIDS on SYI right now (and none on eBay the last time I checked).
