June 25, 2007

The Duel Between eBay and Google



Google launched last year a payment system called Google Checkout, but eBay refused to accept it as an alternative for its own PayPal because Google didn't have a "substantial historical track record of providing safe and reliable financial and/or banking related services".

Two weeks ago, Google Checkout team tried to make an appearance at the eBay Live event to celebrate user choice and to convince eBay to accept Google Checkout as a payment method. But eBay is a major AdWords advertiser, so it decided to use its biggest weapon and dropped all the US ads from Google. The move was pretty unexpected and Google quickly canceled the event: "eBay Live attendees have plenty of activities to keep them busy this week in Boston, and we did not want to detract from that activity. After speaking with officials at eBay, we at Google agreed that it was better for us not to feature this event during the eBay Live conference."

After 10 days, eBay resumed the ad campaign, but not without proclaiming the independence from Google. "I will tell you it will be in a much more limited way than it was before. What we found is that we were not as dependent on AdWords as some people thought," said an eBay spokesman. New York Times reports that eBay will buy more ads from Google's competitors, including Yahoo and Microsoft. Hopefully they won't advertise for dead people, murderers or nuns.

10 comments:

  1. ebay is so geigh

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  2. How long before we see "Google Auction"?

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  3. There is another way, I think is better, I add all the important sites I use by adding those bookmarks to the "Bookmarks Toolbar Folder" and changing their names in the properties e.g, Google Analytics as GA and so, so I have a number of these names, so I just click them without have to type anyname on the browser window. Takes it to the sites much faster. It stays as a Toolbar with these short names.

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  4. I'd stop indexing some pages from ebay, and yes, google auction would be nice, ebay layout and design sux, its web 1.0, when i visit ebay i say: Back to 90's!!!

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  5. Clearly eBay is just protecting PayPal, to keep its position as no uno choice for worldwide online payment carrier.

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  6. Weak.

    God, that was a great example of how people abuse Google Adwords though, the image at the top of the page.

    I hate when I search for something like Monkeys or "children's schools" and it's like "Get children's schools at eBay" - superlame.

    Also, why doesn't Google just strike back and eliminate eBay from its listings? Because it would greatly suffer by doing so? I wager that's not the case, but rather than the people at Google aren't giant babies crying in their diapers while their HTML fails to validate and they allow their users to sell imaginary PS3s and try auctioning off the sun.

    eBay is officially boycotted in my book.

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  7. I think eBay did a right thing for its own right. It is not good to be too dependent on Google, and providing G-checkout may not necessarily bring more revenue and profit to eBay, and users had got used to paypal.

    After all, in a long run, it is inevitable that Google Auction come out. It takes sometime to build an experienced team handling finance and transactions, and it takes even longer to create credits to do such business. These have nothing to do with Google's technology advances or marketing powers. Just give Google some time.

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  8. In the world of "Do No Evil", you make as many partners as you can and make no enemies if you can help it. Google is probably really pissed at eBay, but if Google removed eBay from its index, they would lose their shot at ever having a partnership with eBay. Furthermore, newspapers would call Google evil the next morning; I guarantee it.

    Google is smart; they know that PayPal is superior to Google Checkout. They know eBay will always be more popular than a Google Auction.

    As much as I like Google, I don't think it's fair for them to dominate every market that they are in. They belong where they are right now in online shopping. And I truly am a Google lover, but it wouldn't be fair for Google to swallow eBay's market.

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  9. IMO, eBay's actions were more disappointing than Google's. Google Checkout humorously rolls out a "Freedom Party" to poke eBay, and eBay responds by essentially threatening to cut off business with Google?

    Do they realize that they just confirmed Google Checkout's half-serious claim?

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  10. Ebay claimed they have paypal as a secured and experienced in financial. but why paypal is not wide internationally just like google checkout do?

    what the dumb is goin on ebay?

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