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Technology Stocks : eBay - Superb Internet Business Model -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Stewart Elliot who wrote (3891)	6/27/1999 9:05:00 PM
From: pass pass	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 7772

I'm trying to buy a 3Com 56k PCMCIA card. Found from ValueAmerica site, a brand-new one costs $130. Then I went to eBay, $7. I can't believe it. I haven't registered in eBay yet but I'm a little skeptical about actually buying stuff from eBay. Is it authentic? Can you return the item and get a refund if you're not happy? How you do stop hit-and-run sellers?

To: Stewart Elliot who wrote (3891)	6/28/1999 12:33:00 AM
From: Doug Fowler	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 7772

Stewart: You will get no argument from me that eBay growth is slowing. In fact, several of us have made a big deal about that on this thread for quite some time now. I did NOT say that eBay's slowdown was due to summer vacations - as the slowdown has been going on ALL quarter. However, the summer will hurt growth for then next month or two. With regard to Yahoo auctions: You and I are always going to disagree about their impact. I'll only say that I consider Amazon a bigger potential threat. I am QUITE CONCERNED about eBay right now, not just because of the slowing auction counts, but also because the auctions have started bringing in less money for the sellers. eBay has two problems right now, and neither is particularly easy or cheap to solve. eBays needs MANY MORE serious sellers, AND it needs the buyers to support the new sellers. I don't think competition is the issue here. The issue is how big can online auctions get and how quickly can they get there. Have online auctions become temporarily saturated? What will it take to grow this market by a factor of 10 (which is where I think eBay eventually needs to be to justify their current valuation)?