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

To: Doug Fowler who wrote (3107)	5/3/1999 1:50:00 PM
From: Impristine	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 7772

here's a bidding concept, just online today... cdenergy.com they are bidding on certificates of deposit, they were paying 9.4 percent for 12 month cd, fast registration, kind of interesting.... if you are a spread player....

To: Doug Fowler who wrote (3107)	5/4/1999 12:10:00 AM
From: Stewart Elliot	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 7772

Hold on - Ebay investors can not at once claim that ebay is so successful because the entire world is or will be promoting and using it's service ("the community") then at the same time say that Ebay's success is due largely to serious sellers because it suits their argument. Pick one because it matters alot in the overall analysis of Ebay's potential. I believe serious sellers are a significant part of the equation, but not weighted nearly as much as you suggest in your message. My random sample of friends who "love ebay" have all purchased items from casual sellers. Perhaps my sample is not large enough, but one thing is certain: you are a serious seller, and are likely biased in your assessment (I often suffer the same problem with assessing my own industry - I'm too close to the business and my particular niche). Everybody brags about this huge membership and how everybody in the world will be buyers and sellers on ebay, and now, it turns out that the serious sellers are responsible for ebay's success. Hmmmmm..... Since you brought it up: Going back to my MS example, I'll be even more bold and say over 75% of the casual buyer/sellers on ebay would switch for $500, and still, less than 1% of the casual MS users would switch to Linux for the same bait - there really is no comparison. If another site hits a critical mass of buyers, the serious sellers will be tempted to give it a go - because serious sellers will care less about the "community", and much more about value and/or the bottom line. Today, that means ebay. But loyalty is ephemeral for a serious seller. So, it's just a matter of whether anybody believes that another site can generate a critical mass of buyers and sellers. If it's not possible, then ebay is on it's way to becoming the most powerful company in the world. If it is possible, and history suggests that it is, then ebay will face competitive reality.