Continue reading Could Mobile Payment Become a Common, Easy Reality?

Could Mobile Payment Become a Common, Easy Reality? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 30 Dec 2009 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Craig Newmark testified on Thursday that he regretted getting into bed with auction site eBay (EBAY) almost as soon as his head hit the pillow. The founder of Craigslist, the online classified site that has decimated large chunks of the newspaper industry, sold 28% of his company to eBay in August 2004. Within months, he recounted, eBay began to pull back on its promises, causing him to regret the decision.

During the negotiations more than five years ago, Meg Whitman, who was the CEO at the time, told Newmark that eBay would be happy to sit back as a minority shareholder for several years and use Craigslist as its exclusive venue for classified ads. Yet, shortly after the deal closed, eBay pushed for a bigger piece of the company and acquired an online classified company outside the United States. Both Whitman and company founder Pierre Omidyar testified that eBay was clear about its intentions.

The lawsuit, filed by eBay against Craigslist, involves the size of the former's minority stake in the privately held, relatively low-tech and highly popular classified site. eBay claims that Newmark diluted its share to 24% through a "self-dealing" scheme to issue more equity.

Craig Newmark: eBay wasn't worth it originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 10 Dec 2009 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If you take a look at a book on microeconomics, you'll see a section on bartering. Generally, it will say that the process is fairly inefficient. Hey, that's why societies have invented currencies, right?

This is all true. Yet, for those who are trying to run a business, bartering may be a good thing. Perhaps the biggest reason is that it saves on cash. It also can be a great way to build relationships and perhaps even get new customers.

Continue reading Entrepreneur's Journal: Save some bucks with bartering

Entrepreneur's Journal: Save some bucks with bartering originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 16 Aug 2009 18:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

There are a variety of reasons for the disarray in the newspaper industry. But one culprit is a funky website: craigslist, which provides online classified services.

Craig Newmark started the service back in 1995 Originally, it was a simple email list for local events in San Francisco. Since then, growth has exploded. In fact, there are about 20 billion page views per month.

What's more, according to a report from Classified Intelligence Report, the craigslist site is expected to generate more than $100 million in revenues for this year.

Continue reading Craigslist: A $100 million powerhouse?

Craigslist: A $100 million powerhouse? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 10 Jun 2009 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Craigslist sues South Carolina attorney general

Craigslist sues South Carolina attorney general originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 21 May 2009 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Craigslist is on the receiving end of an avalanche of bad publicity in the wake of the Boston University Medical School murders. South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster is threatening to charge the company with aiding and abetting prostitution if an ad on the site leads to a prostitution arrest in his state.

Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster is bucking McMaster, complaining on his company's blog that the company is being unfairly targeted. "Seriously?" he writes. "The craigslist adult services section for Greenville, SC, has a total of one ad for the last three days, featuring a photograph of a fully clothed person. The 'erotic services' section for Greenville, which we recently closed, has eight ads total which will expire in two days, and even for these ads the images and text are quite tame."

Continue reading Craigslist says it's unfairly targeted -- and it's right

Craigslist says it's unfairly targeted -- and it's right originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 18 May 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Craigslist 'Erotic Services' ads will change

Craigslist 'Erotic Services' ads will change originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 14 May 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Arm candy: The ultimate executive compensation

Arm candy: The ultimate executive compensation originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 28 Jan 2009 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If you look at top websites -- like Wikipedia and craigslist -- a common theme is user participation. It certainly can be a powerful thing.

Well, this is what Glassdoor.com is trying to do. Actually, this week the company announced a $6.5 million venture capital round (the total amount raised since its founding is $9.5 million). The investors include: Sutter Hill Ventures and Benchmark Capital.

So far, Glassdoor.com has attracted 115,000 contributions from its user base (the site launched in June). Basically, they have provided information about their employers, such as on salaries, culture and so on. There are even ratings of company CEOs.

All in all, it's a neat idea. After all, making the decision on a new job is critical -- but often fraught with uncertainty. So why now allow the community to help out?

According to the Glassdoor blog:

"Now more than ever, people want to know what it's really like inside a company and more and more employees are sharing details about their jobs and work environments. With increased resources, employees and employers can improve upon the decisions they make for their career and for their company. In this environment, in particular, we think this investment sends a strong signal about the value of the information available on Glassdoor.com to people around the globe."

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Streetsmart Guide to Short Selling: Techniques the Pros Use to Profit in Any Market. He is also the founder of BizEquity, a valuation website.

Glassdoor.com gets a $6.5 million payday originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 29 Oct 2008 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading YouTube was costly -- has it become RubeTube?

YouTube was costly -- has it become RubeTube? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 07 Jul 2008 14:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Wal-Mart launches free online classifieds originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 03 Jun 2008 09:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

eBay gives Craigslist a 28.4% yank of the chain; Craigslist bites back originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 14 May 2008 16:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Back in April, eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY), which owns 28.4% of Craiglist, sued the company alleging that its board of directors (which consists only of founder Craig Newmark and CEO Jim Buckmaster) had attempted to dilute eBay's stake to just 10%.

Well, Craigslist wasn't having any of that. It filed a lawsuit accusing the company of interfering with its business operations, unfair competition by using its proprietary information, and infringing its trademark to attract visitors to eBay Web sites. The suit was filed yesterday in California Superior Court in San Francisco.

Continue reading Craiglist countersues as eBay relationship sours

Craiglist countersues as eBay relationship sours originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 14 May 2008 12:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of our Battle of the Brands feature. Let us know which brand you prefer, and check out other Battle of the Brands posts.

Something new and something old, eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY) the large Internet trading platform competes more each day with Craigslist, who's platform continues to unfold. They are very much the same, and oh so different, too. Craigslist has been resisting becoming eBay in too many ways, yet eBay has gone through the back door to acquiring partial ownership and tracking a competitive threat from the inside.

Being public, eBay must disclose its financial information, which is not true for the private Craigslist. Craigslist is not happy about eBay's ownership position, and for its part eBay has sued Craigslist. It says the board diluted its interest in the popular site by more than 10%, and the two have been trading accusations since.

For most of Craigslist's history there has been pressure to become public or sell itself outright or make the pursuit of profit a higher motive. That has been shunned in favor of slowly building a user friendly and practical Internet information trading platform.

Continue reading Battle of the Brands: eBay vs. Craigslist

Battle of the Brands: eBay vs. Craigslist originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 07 May 2008 14:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The lawsuit between Ebay (NASDAQ:EBAY) and Craigslist is just beginning and its genesis has finally come out.

The issue between the companies began when Ebay brought its classified business Kijiji into the US market a little less than a year ago. Craigslist viewed this as triggering an anti-competitive clause with Ebay, one of the online classified site's shareholders.

According to The Wall Street Journal's story on the lawsuit, "Craigslist directors held clandestine meetings in October 2007 to dilute eBay's minority stake in the online-classifieds company after eBay developed a rival offering."

It turns out that Ebay had also made an offer to buy all of Craigslist.

The merit in the lawsuit would appear to be with Craigslist. It is hard to imagine that it would stand by and let a large shareholder set up a direct competitor. It is harder to imagine why Ebay would file suit over the effort by Craigslist to protect itself.

The law may be on Ebay's side, to some extent. Craigslist did have a board meeting and set-up provisions to keep Ebay from taking a more active role. But, the morality of the situation favors Craigslist. Ebay's attempt to set up a competing business violated the "spirit" of the relationship between the two companies.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com and author of the Ten Stocks Under $10 letter.

Craigslist sees eBay (EBAY) as competitor originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 01 May 2008 10:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

And now there's a big issue with eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY), which owns 28.4% of Craiglist. Apparently, the relationship has been somewhat rocky as is evident by the lawsuit announced last night. eBay is claiming that the board of Craigslist (which consists only of Newmark and the CEO, Jim Buckmaster) has attempted to water down the ownership position - to a mere 10%.

I can certainly understand Craigslist's actions. After all, eBay has its own classifieds service called Kijiji. But hey, in the tech world, such arrangements are nothing new. It's to be expected (and so are lawsuits).

Interestingly enough, Newmark is not being shy about things and has responded via his blog. According to him, the lawsuit is a surprise and he claims that eBay has "ulterior motives," which may involve a hostile takeover.

Really? Let's see, how many times has eBay launched a hostile deal? I can't remember. Plus, such a thing is nearly impossible for a minority shareholder to pull off (and, even more difficult if the ownership position has been heavily diluted).

Unfortunately, eBay's legal complaint was not disclosed (because of confidentiality reasons), but the venue is Delaware, which has lots of expertise in shareholder disputes and usually handles things fairly quickly.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including The Complete M&A Handbook and The Edgar Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements. He also operates MergerBook.com.

eBay sends the attack dogs on Craigslist originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 23 Apr 2008 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Online auction company eBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) owns just over 28% of classifieds company craigslist. eBay bought in during 2004.

Now, eBay is suing craigslist and its management for diluting its share in craigslist, something it contends the classifieds company can not do. "The recent actions by the craigslist directors have disadvantaged eBay and its investment in Craigslist," Michael Jacobson, eBay's senior vice president and general counsel according to The New York Times.

All of this is a great mystery. eBay has not said what it paid for its stake. It has also not disclosed why it thinks craigslist has taken actions to cause dilution.

Why did eBay disclose the lawsuit but insist that its details be sealed? Craigslist is a private company, so there was no need to let the public know about the move.

One of several things might be happening. eBay has no control over craigslist management. Craigslist is one of the largest websites on the internet. eBay might want more of a say in how the company is operated and how it makes money. Many listings on craigslist are free. eBay may believe it will never make money on its investment if craigslist does not become more aggressive in its pricing.

The other possible motive is that eBay may want to try to force craigslist into a sale, with eBay being the acquirer. The auction firm needs something to jump-start its US business. A judgment against the classified company, especially if it includes any money damages, might open the door for eBay to move in.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com

eBay sues craigslist: Takeover move next originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 23 Apr 2008 03:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Will Spark Networks break investors' hearts? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 04 Jan 2008 13:25:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

As a dog lover, I have to say that this is one of the most evil scams I've seen in a long time. According to The Consumerist, the latest advance-fee scam works like this:

You're browsing through an online classified ads site like Craigslist, and see a cute little dog available for adoption. You email the poster who replies that there is no fee and that while he hates to see the dog go, the weather in Africa is no good for him. If you could just pay the shipping fee, he'll be happy to send you the dog -- and so you wire him the shipping fee and, you guessed it, never hear from him again. In some cases, he may string you along with more requests for money but, either way, you ain't gettin' the pooch.

These con-artists should have to share a jail cell with Michael Vick.

[Photo from BurningWell.org]

Using puppies to steal your money with advance-fee scams originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 14 Oct 2007 09:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A self-described "spectacularly beautiful" 25-year old woman is drawing some flack for an ad she placed on Craigslist looking for a man earning at least half-a-million per year because "$250,000 won't get me to Central Park West."

Today's New York Times follows the story of the ad's provenance and the scandal that it has stirred. But being the helpful type, I am going to provide this damsel in distress (assuming it wasn't a prank) with some ideas on how to find the man of her avaricious dreams.

Money's Marlys Harris caused quite a stir a few months back when he published a piece called How to Marry a Billionaire. To infiltrate the world of the super-rich, you must be attractive, classy, cultured and have the right job: rich people, almost by definition, work extremely hard, and frequently meet their future spouses at work.

By making yourself the type of person who will be attractive to a billionaire, you are likely to make yourself the type of person would be attractive to anyone.

Woman searches for rich man on Craigslist originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 08 Oct 2007 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.