Search results for eBay
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Posted
Jan 03 2008, 03:21 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
There's been some talk lately about whether eBay CEO Meg Whitman should resign. EBay would be invigorated if she did. Recently, she's been criticized for signing on as the financial co-chair of Mitt Romney's presidential campaign. Whitman met Romney years ago when she consulted for his private equity firm. At BloggingStocks, Gary Sattler thinks that Whitman might request a paid leave of absence from eBay to work on the Romney campaign. I really doubt that. It's ludicrous to think that a CEO of a major public company would do such a thing. If Whitman indeed asks for time off to campaign, eBay shareholders have every right to be angry. Putting politics aside, is it time for Whitman to step down? If you're an eBay shareholder, you might think so. The stock was abysmal in 2006 and continued to disappointment in 2007, staying mostly in the $30-$35 range when companies like Amazon saw shares go through the roof. (Ebay closed yesterday at $32.49.)
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Posted
Dec 13 2007, 10:14 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 It's about time eBay cleared the trash from its site.
The online auctioneer plans to improve the "user experience" next year. At the top of the list: getting rid of sellers with "unethical or questionable business practices," including the ones that charge huge shipping fees.
EBay should have been more aggressive in this area long ago. I've heard lots of stories about buyers who pay big shipping fees, only to see on the delivered package that the actual postage was less than $10. Buyers have to be really savvy to figure out the minefield of shipping ripoffs on the site, and that's not a good user experience.
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Posted
Feb 25 2008, 12:24 PM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
The weeklong boycott of the eBay auction site ends today. But did it accomplish anything? Fed up with recent fee hikes and other policy changes, some eBay sellers decided to boycott the site from Feb. 18 through today. Third-party tracking sites say auction listings have dropped about 13% since the strike started to 13 million items listed. Ebay shares dipped slightly over the past week, but have returned to where they started -- at just under $28. The share price closed up 30 cents to $28.01 today on news that Shopping.com CEO Josh Silverman will now run eBay's Skype online telephony unit.
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Posted
Jan 25 2008, 11:18 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Outgoing eBay CEO Meg Whitman isn't retiring to life on the golf course. The L.A. Times reports today that Whitman may run for governor of California.
"Whitman has talked with top Republicans about the possibility of a run for California governor in 2010, according to three operatives who have had discussions with her. Whitman is said to be asking detailed questions about the logistics of a run and the effect she could have as governor, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to reveal the conversations."
Whitman said this week that she'll retire from eBay by March 31, after a 10-year run as chief executive. Aside from being a fundraiser for Mitt Romney, Whitman has very little experience in politics. Still, that hasn't stopped others from getting elected to the post.
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Posted
Aug 26 2009, 10:44 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 How bad are times for California? So bad that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is now autographing used cars to sell online.
Oh yes, it has come to this. The state, in desperate need of cash, is cleaning out its storage and putting items up for sale on eBay (EBAY), Craigslist and other places, The Los Angeles Times reports. And with a signature from the Governator, maybe those things will bring in a little more cash. A 2002 gold Ford Focus with some 108,000 miles on it, for example, had Schwarzenegger's autograph on the visor and was going for $2,125 on eBay. The state will hold a two-day auction for other items starting Friday in Sacramento. There are other deals to be had, the Times reports. Some are unclaimed items, or stuff that has been confiscated
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Posted
Jan 22 2008, 12:22 PM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
EBay chief executive Meg Whitman will retire from the post soon, the WSJ reported today. And that means eBay is at the most critical point in its history. The retirement news isn't a surprise; we discussed the idea of her resignation earlier this month. Whitman, 51, has been giving her top executives more responsibilities recently and could be grooming one to replace her. EBay investors weren't too thrilled today. The company's shares fell more than 4 percent to close at $27.13. I thought the market would react more favorably, considering that eBay's share price has dropped by almost a third since October. Whitman's legacy has some black marks, such as the overpriced Skype acquisition and the increasing anger among a user base irritated by high fees. I don't think she's done enough to improve the user experience, and as a result companies like Amazon have become a serious competitive threat. But what outshines those flaws is this: Whitman has kept the company growing and profitable, which is exactly what a CEO should do.
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Posted
Aug 20 2008, 11:05 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
EBay is getting lots of attention today for lowering "Buy it Now" insertion fees, but a different announcement caught my eye. Starting in October, customers can no longer pay with cash or a check. Instead, they have to use a credit card or eBay's own PayPal online service. EBay says the move is designed to reduce fraud. But if a buyer wants to send a check (or cash or a money order), and a seller is OK with that, how can eBay stand in the way? EBay is pushing PayPal on its customers so it can charge PayPal transaction fees and boost its revenues.
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Posted
Jul 28 2008, 12:02 PM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
The excellent Footnoted blog digs up an offer letter in an eBay filing, and finds that the company gave incoming executive Alan Marks $1 million to buy a house in the Bay Area. If Marks leaves the company within a year, he must repay the bonus. Marks also gets a $300,000 annual salary, stock awards, annual bonuses, a one-time bonus of $65,000, up to six months in corporate housing and paid relocation. What, no golden coffin? So who is this guy and why is he so important?
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Posted
Dec 30 2008, 08:52 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Thousands of employees have gone to Glassdoor's site to rant and rave (but mostly rant) about their jobs and share salary information. They also have plenty to say about their CEOs, and Glassdoor reviewed the CEO ratings to find out who's been naughty and nice this year. According to the reviews, the CEO that Santa should have rewarded the most this year is Art Levinson of Genentech, who was praised for making great products and taking care of his employees. Apple's Steve Jobs came in second place, followed by Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs. Who was the naughtiest of them all? Steve Odland of Office Depot, who is accused of stifling retail stores with failed business programs and allowing underperforming workers to stay on board. Others on the list include AOL's Randy Falco and Greg Brown of Motorola. Here are the full naughty and nice lists:
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Posted
Jul 09 2008, 03:47 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
EBay is making big changes to its business these days -- but apparently it's not going over well with customers. According to a recent MSN-Zogby poll, only 31% of Americans plan to buy or sell anything on the auction site in the next year. That's down from 40% who said they bought or sold something on eBay in the last year.
There are two ways to look at this data. On one hand, one out of three Americans who go online still plan to use eBay next year. That's an incredible penetration rate, one that other retailers would love to have.
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