EBay to Introduce Online Classifieds

johnnymk · 07-04-2007, 07:39 AM

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/04/te...th&oref=slogin

EBay, the Internet auction leader, has quietly introduced a new online classified advertising service in the United States.

The new service, called Kijiji, pits eBay, based in San Jose, Calif., against a company it partly owns: Craigslist, the San Francisco-based company that manages classified ad sites for 300 cities, which attract 12 million new ad listings each month. EBay bought a 25 percent stake in Craigslist in 2004.

Kijiji, which means “village” in Swahili, is one of eBay’s several classified advertising efforts outside the United States. It is the market leader in Canada, Germany, Italy and Taiwan.

EBay introduced the Kijiji site in the United States without fanfare last Friday, a move that was reported yesterday on the Web site of The Wall Street Journal. The new site has separate classified ad pages for 220 cities and allows users to buy and sell items in a variety of categories like antiques, cars, motorcycles and pets.

“This is going to be our classified ad play in the United States,” said an eBay spokesman, Hani Durzy. “We look at it as competition to Craigslist and other platforms. But we think there is room for competition.” Mr. Durzy said eBay was planning to keep its stake in Craigslist.

EBay plans to attract users to its new site by buying advertisements on search engines and by ensuring that listings appear in unpaid, or natural, search engine results. There are no plans to direct eBay traffic to the site, Mr. Durzy said.

Craigslist’s chief executive, Jim Buckmaster, said, “One of the beauties of viewing our world through public service goggles is that there is no need to worry about what other companies are doing.

“Many companies offer classifieds, but since we don’t concern ourselves with considerations such as market share or revenue maximization, we don’t think of them as competition, or as a challenge to Craigslist.”

DarkFury · 07-05-2007, 06:58 AM

Heh....

Well you'd think that if they would just categorize all of the "Buy it Now" auctions, you'd essentially have a "classified section".

redcolours · 07-05-2007, 09:29 AM

will it charge you fees for listing? craigslist doesnt.

DarkFury · 07-05-2007, 12:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redcolours

will it charge you fees for listing? craigslist doesnt.

You know that they will...

Only thing is... Craigslist doesn't have a "payment function"... as you have to arrange that on your own... while I'd think that eBay would somehow tie the PayPal system into these ads to offer a little more protection in these transactions.

Either way, I'm pretty sure it won't be "free"

beatbox32 · 07-05-2007, 01:09 PM

Just checked it out... No reason to abandon Craigslist just yet, but I guess only time will tell.

MrGreg · 07-05-2007, 02:03 PM

I use craigslist because I like it and it's local.
I use eBay because it's the only game in town for auctions.

If given a choice for similar functionality, I'll take craigslist every time.

07-04-2007, 07:39 AM	#1
johnnymk Chief of Naval Operations Join Date: May 2000 Location: LEVITTOWN< PA> USA Posts: 13,621	EBay to Introduce Online Classifieds http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/04/te...th&oref=slogin EBay, the Internet auction leader, has quietly introduced a new online classified advertising service in the United States. The new service, called Kijiji, pits eBay, based in San Jose, Calif., against a company it partly owns: Craigslist, the San Francisco-based company that manages classified ad sites for 300 cities, which attract 12 million new ad listings each month. EBay bought a 25 percent stake in Craigslist in 2004. Kijiji, which means “village” in Swahili, is one of eBay’s several classified advertising efforts outside the United States. It is the market leader in Canada, Germany, Italy and Taiwan. EBay introduced the Kijiji site in the United States without fanfare last Friday, a move that was reported yesterday on the Web site of The Wall Street Journal. The new site has separate classified ad pages for 220 cities and allows users to buy and sell items in a variety of categories like antiques, cars, motorcycles and pets. “This is going to be our classified ad play in the United States,” said an eBay spokesman, Hani Durzy. “We look at it as competition to Craigslist and other platforms. But we think there is room for competition.” Mr. Durzy said eBay was planning to keep its stake in Craigslist. EBay plans to attract users to its new site by buying advertisements on search engines and by ensuring that listings appear in unpaid, or natural, search engine results. There are no plans to direct eBay traffic to the site, Mr. Durzy said. Craigslist’s chief executive, Jim Buckmaster, said, “One of the beauties of viewing our world through public service goggles is that there is no need to worry about what other companies are doing. “Many companies offer classifieds, but since we don’t concern ourselves with considerations such as market share or revenue maximization, we don’t think of them as competition, or as a challenge to Craigslist.”

07-05-2007, 06:58 AM	#2
DarkFury Secretary of the Navy Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Chillin' N Da 'Hood Posts: 34,997	Heh.... Well you'd think that if they would just categorize all of the "Buy it Now" auctions, you'd essentially have a "classified section". __________________ DarkFury's Pimptopia - Don't Hate the Playa, Hate the Game! Home of the Original OG Pimp (accept NO imitations)

07-05-2007, 09:29 AM	#3
redcolours in living colour Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: above a raging c Posts: 1,739	will it charge you fees for listing? craigslist doesnt. __________________ there are pictures, but no,nothing happens on my site.

07-05-2007, 02:03 PM	#6
MrGreg Captain Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Beaverton, OR Posts: 1,529	I use craigslist because I like it and it's local. I use eBay because it's the only game in town for auctions. If given a choice for similar functionality, I'll take craigslist every time. __________________ -The nerd formerly known as vectorcalculus

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07-05-2007, 01:09 PM	#5
beatbox32 Lieutenant Junior Grade Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Orange County, CA, USA Posts: 159	Just checked it out... No reason to abandon Craigslist just yet, but I guess only time will tell.

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