It seems that only yesterday we talked about these rumors. Actually, it was at the end of September.

Once again the rumors come from a source I'm not sure about, China TechNews.com (I guess that's why they're called rumors). Yet, when this same source reported about the resignation of eBay, Inc. (NASDAQ:EBAY) China, or eBay Eachnet's CEO; a report that ended up being correct.

Now the Internet magazine is reporting (citing Chinese media sources) that Tom Online (NASDAQ:TOMO) has signed an agreement with eBay Eachnet to acquire it with a formal announcement coming soon.

Apparently, someone named Zhou Kaixuan, who is also a shareholder in eBay's Skype (which sounds a little odd to me), was the mediator in the negotiations. That's a pretty specific detail, I'd say.

eBay is denying the rumor.

Well, this doesn't sit well with me at all:

• First of all, Meg Whitman, eBay's CEO just recently said in the Q3 earnings call that eBay is committed to China.
• Second, after leaving Japan and having increasingly strong competition from Gmarket in Korea, selling eBay Eachnet would mean eBay is not only leaving China, but the whole of Asia pretty much (well, not India).
• Third, I also mentioned here the possible difficulties for Skype in China and PayPal already has a problem there with regulations as it cannot be fully owned by foreigners. What does that leave then?

I still hope that the rumors are wrong and that there is a strategy hidden in those sale rumors.

Have Tom.com and eBay China finally signed an agreement? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 03 Nov 2006 17:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Perhaps a little scared by recent lawsuits from fashion makers, eBay has agreed to some form of policing on its site and has teamed up with the British Museum. Together, they are warning sellers and buyers about the legalities of treasure finds trading.

The British Museum has set up a team to monitor sales on eBay and make sure antiques are sold legally with the illegal listings reported to special police detectives. This is done under the English, Welsh, and Northern Irish law where failure to report "treasures" is deemed a criminal offense. Not all items that are considered treasures are even allowed to be sold. The team will ensure proper reporting, which in turn result in legal sales.

eBay, on its part, would stop illegal listings when asked to do so and educate customers, both buyers and sellers, who may not be aware of the law. eBay has posted a guide to buying antiquities.

While eBay signed a memorandum of understanding, the company isn't actually paying the British Museum to support the team. Some found that to be ironic.

I doubt today's 2.58%, or 71 cents gain in eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) share price has anything to do with the above, though. The rumors of something happening in China are still floating around and that is what most likely has propelled eBay's recent (starting last week) rally. eBay closed at $28.18 today.

eBay after the bell 10-3-06: Some policing, but not by eBay originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 03 Oct 2006 17:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Adding to earlier rumored possibilities I outlined this morning about eBay China's fate, AuctionBytes now adds another.

Up to now we had the two possibilities of eBay China being sold to either Tencent or Tom.com. AuctionBytes quotes Pacific Epoch, adding a third possibility of eBay actually negotiating the acquisition of Tencent, rather than the other way around.

This makes a little more sense to me as I don't see eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) just giving up on the whole Chinese market and withdrawing altogether from it by selling its operations there.

Looking at today's share price, eBay shares are up over 3.5%. The increase in share price could be attributed to a Goldman Sachs bullish note on eBay. Goldman lowered its eBay target price from $54 to $35, but reiterated its "Buy" rating on eBay at the same time. While Goldman is bullish, others predict eBay's Q3 to be "less-than-stellar."

Could eBay shares be up 3.5% solely on a Goldman note, or is there anything behind the rumors? And if so, what?

More on the eBay China rumors originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 26 Sep 2006 13:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.