E-Commerce Times Talkback

Re: Yahoo!, Amazon & eBay: Is Imitation Always Flattery?
Posted by: Keith Regan 2001-10-16 20:10:54

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It's said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. If so, there are a lot of wet
kisses being blown back and forth between the largest and best-known e-commerce companies.
Yahoo! is the latest to dye its hair the same color as all the others. On Tuesday, the
Internet portal unveiled a plan to integrate used items, closeout items and auctions into its existing
shopping hub.

Re: Yahoo!, Amazon & eBay: Is Imitation Always Flattery?
Posted by: loudpedal 2001-10-17 12:39:09 In reply to: Keith Regan

I don't agree with some of Keith's points. For me, I don't care if a site I visit offers new, used, or auction products as long as I can easily search for one or if the search results are grouped along those lines. If I'm looking at a particular book, I see it less for a used one, and I decide I'm only going to read it once, I'd be glad for the opportunity to pay less. If I don't need it right away, I might even put a bid in for even less than the used price just to see if I could get it. Why not? I don't see the downside to these choices.

I'm sure that the three sites will keep the look of their sites plenty different so that people remember which site they're on. I also firmly believe that one will probably succumb to the other two. That's life in the big world.

Re: Yahoo!, Amazon & eBay: Is Imitation Always Flattery?
Posted by: Derek Jackson 2001-10-17 10:03:07 In reply to: Keith Regan

Sorry, I don't buy into the sites becoming the same. I still, like most people, use Yahoo to explore, Amazon to buy new products, and eBay to look for old ones. Although each of these sites has delved into areas the other is strong in, most people use the sites for what they are known for. Amazon and yahoo don't have half the auctions eBay does, and eBay and yahoo don't offer the vast inventory that Amazon does.

And even if they are delving into the same areas, how does the consumer lose? By having competitive sites, we get better prices, more user functionality on sites, and different places to find the stuff we are looking for.

Re: Yahoo!, Amazon & eBay: Is Imitation Always Flattery?
Posted by: Lars 2001-11-07 05:30:05 In reply to: Derek Jackson

Hi, so what do you think eBay's next step would be?

As I see it they have two alternatives.

1. either merge yahoo or amazon or both
2. or pick up the fight with amazon

what do you think?