Most MLM Companies frown on having their products show up on eBay. I wonder if companies will feel the same about Google Base when it starts to crush eBay in the coming months (God willing).
News out of Europe today that Google is developing new product lines in response to fears that their meteoric online advertising growth is stalling. A new service, Google Base, is being launched to enable traditional retailers to market and sell their goods online. The head of Google’s European arm, Nikesh Arora, says that the service involves retail companies submitting details and prices of their goods. Google would then index and package the information into the database of a dedicated search engine, which would, in essence, provide users with a virtual supermarket. According to Mr Arora, the company found through research that many leading European retailers didn’t feel competitive enough online. It’ll be interesting to see if Google can make inroads with this initiative, since many of the world’s largest retailers have already invested a ton of money in their own online operations, while Amazon and eBay are far and away the current 800 pound gorillas in the e-commerce platform for retailers space.
Dane on March 23rd, 2006 at 9:17 am
That was an interesting comment that just snuck out. You want Google Base to crush eBay?
Ty on March 23rd, 2006 at 10:36 am
Dane,
Maybe crush was a strong word, perhaps “humble” is a better choice.
eBay has chosen to raise fees to a level that make it difficult to turn a reasonable profit unless you manufacture the products.
In the last month, two of the top eBay powersellers have filed bankruptcy.
eBay needs a wake up call and I suspect Google is the company to give it.