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

To: Kenneth M. Koff, CPCU who wrote (3252)	5/24/1999 3:28:00 AM
From: KeepItSimple	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 7772

Excuse me, but why does anyone ever PAY ebay their percentage cut? I mean, say I want to sell a 3000 dollar computer. I enter in bogus information, except for a free hotmail account. Now, I run the bid as normal, and someone wins. I simply contact that person and make arrangements for payment. Since EBAY doesnt hold the merchandise in escrow, what can they do? The only info they have on me is a free email account address. Why bother to pay Ebay at all? Can they sue you? Isn't this a gaping hole right through the heart of their business plan? (btw, a friend of mine who uses ebay all the time said that this sort of "never pay Ebay their fee" stuff is now about 85% of total transactions.. The only people who pay the fees anymore are the newbies and the large retail stores selling stuff there. Ebay also, unsurprisingly enough, doesnt break down the "non-paying bid wins in their quarterly statements, as far as I know))

To: Kenneth M. Koff, CPCU who wrote (3252)	5/24/1999 9:58:00 AM
From: Lynn	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 7772

No, Kenneth, I have not shorted EBAY, have no intentions of shorting EBAY, have never shorted any stock--and do not expect to ever short a stock, any time. Shorting is not my thing. Neither is trading. With the exception of one stock I now hold, I am a buy and hold investor for the long term. Long term for me means much more than one year. The exception is NAVR, which I have held longer than expected (or wanted)--over 6 months. It is specifically because my outlook is long-long term that I take my time, really try to get a sense of what I am considering for my portfolio, before I pick up shares. How a stock is performing while I make my decision is not a factor that hastens or extends my decision. What I noted in my posting are, in my mind, valid concerns. Everything I mentioned in my posting (and more) has been written-up and sent to EBAY itself. Regards, Lynn