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  • David Marcus Named PayPal President At eBay

    David Marcus Named PayPal President At eBay

    PayPal has a new President, and his name is David Marcus. He’s been with the company since last year. He came over when PayPal acquired Zong, and became PayPal’s VP of Mobile.

    eBay CEO John Donahoe writes on the PayPal Blog:

    I’ve picked David Marcus as the new president of PayPal and I couldn’t be more thrilled. David’s just the right leader for PayPal. For more than 15 years, he’s been a successful technology entrepreneur with a passion for great products that both engage and delight customers.

    He’s going to lead PayPal with that “founder’s perspective,” to bring start-up energy to PayPal’s unmatched global reach and digital payment capabilities. With David at the helm, we will have an even deeper commitment at PayPal, and across eBay Inc., to be a leading technology-driven and customer-focused product innovation company. We’ll continue to focus on accelerating product innovation, driving consumer engagement and creating a world where paying anytime, anywhere and any way is synonymous with PayPal.

    David has made his mark since joining PayPal as VP of mobile when we acquired Zong last year. He’s worked closely with the entire PayPal leadership team to drive mobile to unparalleled new heights. We’re going close this year with more than $7 billion in mobile payment volume. And David’s helping inject new innovation — most recently with PayPal Here. PayPal Here is PayPal’s first global physical product and free app that turns any iPhone, and soon Android smartphone, into a comprehensive mobile payment solution.

    Marcus takes the presidential reins at a time when PayPal is going in bold new directions, including competition with Square with its new PayPal Here product, as well as its new Digital Wallet.

    As Donahoe notes, PayPal is making its way into retail stores as well. Home Depot recently rolled out PayPal in about 2,000 stores, and more retailers will follow.

    Last year PayPal processed $118 billion from over 100 million users in 190 countries. The company processed $4 billion in mobile payments.

  • EBay Blocks the Sale of Sugar Substitute

    EBay Blocks the Sale of Sugar Substitute

    Internet auctioneer eBay blocked the global sale of Sorbitol yesterday, a sugar substitute that has been blamed for the death of a medical patient in Italy. As a subject in a food intolerance test being conducted in a private clinic in the town of Barletta, Teresa Sunna, 28, died after taking the food additive. Two other subjects of the trial who had also ingested Sorbitol are presently recovering in a hospital.

    Italian police have launched an investigation, and have seized 1,000 tons of Sorbitol from local businesses so far. The artificial sweetener is used in cakes, ice cream and diet foods, and is widely available for purchase online. The Italian Health Ministry released a statement directing anyone who bought the product on eBay to contact authorities, adding that “there is no need for a general health alarm” on products containing Sorbitol.

    EBay has stated that it is “profoundly pained by what has happened,” and is cooperating with authorities. The company is blocking the sale of Sorbitol until the cause of the death and illnesses is explained.

    Cargill, the maker of the fatal batch of Sorbitol, stated, “according to our internal investigation, the batch in question at the time of its dispatch (from Italy) conformed to our rigorous standards for product quality and safety.”

  • eBay Sells Rent.com To Primedia

    eBay Sells Rent.com To Primedia

    eBay has sold Rent.com to Primedia, which also owns ApartmentGuide.com, Rentals.com, RentalHouses.com and NewHomeGuide.com. The property search site should fit right in.

    eBay says Rent.com had “limited synergies” with its core business, and that the company is “focusing on enabling commerce for buyers and sellers globally through platforms and technology.

    You might recall a couple of recent, and pretty major PayPal announcements in PayPal Here and PayPal Digital Wallet. I’m assuming it’s things like this eBay is referencing.

    “Rent.com has a strong reputation, brand awareness, history and URL,” Primedia CEO Charles Stubbs said. “Both Rent.com and PRIMEDIA have long track records of delivering a high-quality consumer and client experience in the marketplace.”

    “We are excited to be joining PRIMEDIA, a leading vertical search company in the apartment and rental housing sector,” said Rent.com GM Bill McKnight. “Rent.com fits in nicely with PRIMEDIA’s mission of being the go-to resource to help people find the perfect place to live.”

    Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.

  • PayPal Bringing Its Services To China And India

    PayPal Bringing Its Services To China And India

    PayPal is one of the largest names in the online payment industry. It makes it super easy to make online transactions across national borders. Making the transactions with other people within your borders is a bit trickier if you happen to live in certain countries. PayPal is hoping to change that for China and India.

    PayPal announced today their intentions to bring domestic transactions through their service to the people of China and India. Of course, the biggest issue in terms of entry lies with China and PayPal is currently “applying for a domestic payment license” within the country according to PC World.

    China would be a fantastic market for PayPal to enter due to its estimated 193 million e-commerce users. Besides government regulations, PayPal has another obstacle in their way – AliPay. AliPay is the already established e-payment group under the Alibaba Group. AliPay owns the largest share of the online payment market at 46.9 percent.

    This leaves PayPal with quite the challenge when and if they enter the Chinese marketplace. Analysts speaking to PC World seem to agree with one saying that the “competition will be fierce.” In what could be an even larger threat, however, is obtaining the business license.

    Chinese law requires that any online payment system be Chinese owned. Alibaba Group is an internationally owned company so it was required to spin off AliPay into its own Chinese-centric business. What if PayPal fell under the same regulations? Would they create a new company just for China?

    It’s important to note that PayPal operates within Hong Kong. While it doesn’t automatically give PayPal the go ahead for mainland China, it probably is a bargaining tool. The amount of transactions that flow into Hong Kong everyday must entice the Chinese government into wanting PayPal for the mainland.

    Fortunately, PayPal would face no such hurdles in India. While the online payment economy is much smaller in India, it can only go up from here. Research had indicated that 4.5 percent of all retail transactions will be performed online in India by 2016. This leaves PayPal the perfect spot to swoop in and get in on India during its growth phase.

    All of this is just the next step in PayPal’s move to expand beyond their initial offering. They recently announced PayPal Here which is a mobile payment system for small businesses. Just think if PayPal was able to get PayPal Here into China, it would explode.

    The company has also moved into big box retail by offering PayPal Checkout to customers of The Home Depot. The service allows customers to buy products with only their phone number and a PIN.

    It will be a while before PayPal hears back on whether or not they will be allowed to operate in China. We’ll keep you updated on any developments.

  • StubHub Launched In The UK

    StubHub Launched In The UK

    eBay launched StubHub, its secondary ticketing service, in the United Kingdom today. This marks the first international expansion for StubHub. The company is positioning it as an attept to “shake up the UK ticketing market”.

    The company will sell tickets to various music, sporting and entertainment events, just as it does in the US.

    “The UK has an incredibly rich and vibrant event landscape with an amazing sporting, music and theatre scene and we are looking forward to bringing UK fans our customer centric approach that has made us not only the largest ticket marketplace in the US but also the best at serving fans,” said StubHub CEO Chris Tsakalakis.

    Physical ticket buying and pick-up locations are opening in London’s West End, and across the UK.

    eBay acquired StubHub in 2007, and StubHub itself has been making acquisitions of late as well. In fact, just last week, eBay announced StubHub’s acquisition of Peekspy, makers of FanVenues 3D mapping technology, which lets users look at seating results.

    In late December, StubHub acquired Zvents, giving the service access to 100 times the events it already had. That was a big one.

  • PayPal Here: PayPal’s Square Competitor is Here

    PayPal Here: PayPal’s Square Competitor is Here

    We previously reported on rumors that PayPal was getting ready to launch a Square competitor. Now, the rumors have become reality, as today, PayPal unveiled PayPal Here.

    Like Square, it comes with a card reader you plug into your smartphone and a free app. Merchants can still accept payments without the reader, however, as the app will also scan cards. Actually, beyond the major credit cards, PayPal Here will also accept payments via PayPal (obviously), checks and invoices.

    The rate is 2.7% per transaction. Square’s is 2.75% per swipe for credit cards.

    “PayPal Here is the world’s first global mobile payment solution that allows small businesses to accept almost any form of payment,” says PayPal VP of Mobile David Marcus. “It’s designed to help those merchants make more sales and grow their business with confidence. And it gives them choices. They can accept payments by swiping cards with a fully encrypted thumb-sized card reader, or use a phone camera to scan and process cards and checks. It also allows them to invoice directly from the mobile app and, of course, accept PayPal in a brand new way.”

    “So, you’re asking, how is this different from other small business mobile payment solutions?” he continues. “The key differentiator is that it comes from PayPal, a trusted brand in the online payments industry with more than 100 million customers around the globe and years of proven payment innovation, driving growth for millions of businesses globally. PayPal Here comes with our world-class fraud management capabilities, and our 24×7 live customer support. In addition to accepting more payment methods, PayPal Here offers a simple flat rate of 2.7% for card swipes and PayPal payments. Merchants are also given a business debit card for quick access to their funds and 1% cash back on eligible purchases – which means if you use the debit card, your fees are actually just 1.7%!”

    Earlier this month, Square itself launched a new iPad app – Square Register, promising “everything” you need to run a business. As Square gains popularity among businesses, PayPal will have its work cut out for it on the competition front.

    For PayPal, it’s been a big week. The company also unveiled a new digital wallet product, which it deemed “the future of PayPal”. Here’s a closer look at that:

    PayPal Here will be available for iPhone and Android. It’s not actually available yet, but PayPal will let you know when it is if you give them your name, email address and phone number.

  • PayPal Digital Wallet Unveiled At SXSW: Here’s 20 Minutes Of Demo

    PayPal Digital Wallet Unveiled At SXSW: Here’s 20 Minutes Of Demo

    PayPal introduced a new digital wallet today at SXSW. “This is the future of what PayPal is going to be looking like over the coming months,” PayPal VP, Global Product & Experience, Sam Shrauger declares.

    He actually discussed the offering on the PayPal blog the other day. In that post, he ran down the following lis of what the new digital wallet will make possible:

    Separating the purchase from the payment: Buy something in a store, take it home and decide later how you want to pay for it. PayPal is the only wallet that will offer a 5-7 day grace period for consumers to change their minds.

    Switch from one funding source to another

    Decide to pay over time in installments

    Apply different sources of value (gift cards, airline miles, loyalty points, etc.)

    Personal Lists: Search for items, compare prices and create lists of things you want to buy for a variety of situations.

    Found Money: Your wallet will find deals and coupons for items on your personal lists once you’re in the store. Forgot about that coupon you were saving? The PayPal wallet won’t.

    Spending Rules. Create specific “set asides” like travel funds, set rules by purchase amount, tie specific payment instruments to specific merchants – all in your wallet, without setting up any new bank accounts or opening any new credit cards.

    Here’s about 20 minutes worth of demo of the new digital wallet from Shrauger:

    PayPal will begin rolling out the new features in late May.

    While we’ve yet to see it, PayPal is rumored to be launching a mobile payments dongle to compete with Square. Square has enjoyed unprecedented success in a short time of existence. Such an offering from PayPal, which is more of a household name, could do very well.

    In other PayPal news this week, vice president of customer advocacy and operational excellence Eric Salvatierra was killed when he was struck by a commuter train in Menlo Park.

  • eBay, StubHub Acquire Peekspy, Fanvenues

    eBay, StubHub Acquire Peekspy, Fanvenues

    eBay’s StubHub has acquired Peekspy, makers of the Fanvenues 3D mapping service. On its site, FanVenues calls itself “The Google of seat views for sports and concert fans.”

    OK. I guess that means the place where people go to search for seat views?

    “We create 3-dimensional real-life spaces for the web with your own customised and interactive features,” Peekspy explains on its site. “Our range of products enables your customers to visit your space (indoor or outdoor) by simply browsing the web. Combining fun, interaction and sense of real-life experience, users can locate information within buildings, get directions to desired destinations or choose to freely navigate within the 3D environment. Our technology also allows you to easily organize, update and display live information instantly in 3D.”

    eBay’s Richard Brewer-Hay writes on the eBay Ink blog:

    Something I could have done with a couple of days ago on StubHub when I pulled the trigger on 2 tickets for my eldest daughter and I to see The Boss, Bruce Springsteen, perform in San Jose later next month. I’ve got a pretty good idea that we’ve got excellent seats because I’ve been to this particular venue a few times, but because she’s young, I wanted to make sure we had a great view from our seats for her first ever indoor arena concert.

    As an avid Miami Dolphins’ fan I’m looking forward to playing with the new functionality when I start tracking down tickets next season when Peyton Manning takes the field in orange and teal.

    StubHub itself was acquired by eBay back in 2007. StubHub recently acquired Zvents, which claims over 3 million events generated by 140,000 local marketers.

    Terms of the Peekspy acquisition were not disclosed. For that matter, neither were terms for the Zvents deal.

  • The Best Places to Sell an iPad 2

    The Best Places to Sell an iPad 2

    With many users upgrading to the New iPad, Digital Trends has provided some tips on how to get the most out of selling one’s iPad 2. With Apple’s unveiling of the new iPad yesterday, values of older models are going to drop quickly, so the first thing to do is to act fast.

    The best route is likely eBay – by running a traditional auction, or using eBay’s Instant Sale program. At present, an iPad 2 Wifi-only version can net $356.80, while the AT&T 3G version can get up to $395. The Verizon 3G version is getting $385, and the 32G and 64GB models are obviously bringing in extra. If one doesn’t like the offers generated per an instant sale, an auction can be conducted, which might net more, but takes longer, and is not always a full-proof way of getting paid. eBay uses PayPal to distribute the funds.

    Another option for getting rid of an iPad 2 is Gazelle, an iOS recycling service. Similar to eBay’s Instant Sale program, Gazelle is quick on payment, and handles shipping, sending a pre-paid box to the seller. Sellers can receive payment via check, Amazon gift card or a PayPal transfer. Though, Gazelles prices at present are considerably lower than eBay’s – a like-new 32GB AT&T 3G iPad 2 is going for $250. This price dropped $100 dollars just recently, likely due to the new generation of iPad hitting the market.

    Nextworth is also a good option. The electronics recycler is presently offering $317.10 for a 32GB Wifi-only iPad 2. A 16GB Wifi-only model goes for $291.89. Two other sites worth checking out are BuyMyTronics and CashYourTech, which value a 32GB iPad 2 at $275 and $222 respectively.

    These prices will all likely drop quite quickly, so again, it’s best to act fast, especially with the recent price drop of new Wifi-only iPad 2’s.

  • George Washington Chicken McNugget Gets $8K On eBay

    George Washington Chicken McNugget Gets $8K On eBay

    A 3 year old chicken McNugget from McDonalds that resembles George Washington sold for $8,100 on Ebay. Rebekah Speight of Dakota City,Nebraska sold the McNugget to raise money for a drive to raise $15,000 and send 50 children to summer church camp in Sioux City. eBay had temporarily taken down the auction last month because it violated rules regulating expired food. She later received an email saying the site was “willing to make exceptions to help your cause.”

    There is a long history of people selling their stuff that looks like famous or religious figures. Foods like grilled cheese sandwiches with the Virgin Mary and a slice of toast featuring Jesus Christ have all caught peoples attention.

    See a news report about the nugget below:

  • iPad Trade-Ins on eBay Rising

    iPad Trade-Ins on eBay Rising

    eBay has stated that customers are trading in their first and second generation iPads ten times more than they were last February, likely in anticipation of Apple’s release of its iPad 3. eBay said it received 125K tablet trade-in offers this month, 97.6% being iPads. These offers fall under eBay’s Instant Sale Program, which is different from its traditional auction service. Basically, sellers describe their item, eBay pays for the shipping, takes care of wiping the data on the device, and pays cash.

    eBay says that since the inception of its Instant Sale Program, 7.3 million trade-in offers have been made. Though Apple devices make up the majority of the trade-ins, other electronics are accepted, like Blackberries and Playstations. eBay has ranked its top-traded gadgets:

    Top Apple tablet models:
    1. iPad 1 Wi-Fi + 3G AT&T
    2. iPad 1 Wi-Fi only
    3. iPad 2 Wi-Fi only
    4. iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3G Verizon
    5. iPad 2 Wi-Fi + 3G AT&T

    Top non-Apple tablet models:
    1. ViewSonic ViewPad 10 16GB
    2. Motorola XOOM 32GB Wi-Fi
    3. Asus Eee Pad Transformer 16GB
    4. Acer Iconia Tab A500 16GB
    5. Dell Streak 7 16GB Wi-Fi

    It’s not surprising that more eBayers are trading in their iPads. With the release of the earlier generations, there had been shortages, adding weeks to availability. Apple sold about 32 million iPads last year, and the iPad 3 will surely maintain the popularity of the device.

  • Jeremy Lin’s Boxers Up For Grabs On eBay

    Jeremy Lin’s Boxers Up For Grabs On eBay

    I’m just as tired of all the Linsanity jokes as I’m sure you are, in fact, I’m more tired of the Jeremy Lin jokes than I am of the hype that surrounds him. I don’t care that ESPN spends the entire day talking about him because that’s just less time that they have to talk about Tim Tebow. The point of this is to say that I’m going to hold off on all the Lin_____ jokes for the duration of this post, save one:

    Anyone who buys this is batsh*t Linsane.

    Jeremy Lin’s boxer briefs have popped up on eBay, and are currently available for the low price of $10,000 if you buy them now. The bidding starts at $1,000.

    Here’s the story behind how the seller got their hands on the undergarments:

    My brothers friend went to Harvard and was in the same dorm, got his boxers from the dryer on accident. Got them from him for $100 because hes stupid. Buy now and these could be worth alot in the future.

    Although it’s inconceivable that user tieyourshoe7’s story could have ANY holes in it, the boxer briefs might. They are listed in acceptable condition which means they have “obvious or significant wear.”

    Upon inspection, it appears that Mr. Lin (or whoever owned these shorts) preferred Fruit of the Loom.

    (image)

    To all the loonies out there, you need to make a bid by the evening of February 29th (or before the dude that paid 21 grand for his rookie card swoops in). Currently there are 0 bids, a fact that kind of restores my faith in humanity.

    [Via Sweater Punch]

  • eBay Announces New Partnerships

    eBay Announces New Partnerships

    Today at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, eBay announced new partnerships with Three.co.uk, Yotal and Entradas, and unveiled new mobile app updates that enhance mobile commerce capabilities. eBay and Three.co.uk have paired up to deliver Android devices preloaded with eBay mobile apps, on the UK’s fastest growing mobile network.

    eBay’s PayPal suite has aligned with Spain’s ticketing company Entradas, to allow users to get tickets on a mobile device, and also Yotel, for users to book rooms on their smartphones. PayPal also launched its PayPal Carrier Payment Network, which makes mobile payments easier for more merchants. According to Juniper Research, the digital goods industry in expected to bring in $220 billion by 2014, with eBay having a relevant stake.

    In 2011, eBay mobile commerce generated $5 billion, and PayPal mobile generated $4 billion in payment volume, with its mobile apps having been downloaded more than 70 million times. In 2012, eBay expects to do $8 billion in mobile commerce retail volume. John Donahoe, president and CEO of eBay Inc., states, “mobile commerce is changing the way people shop and pay, and the ways in which merchants of all sizes engage consumers. eBay is driving mobile commerce innovation, partnering with carriers and merchants to build a new retail ecosystem that drives growth by delivering anytime, anywhere value and rich multichannel shopping experiences for consumers.”

    eBay also just released its new Core mobile app version 2.5.0 update or iPhone, which now delivers shipping calculations, can research pricing trends and make sales possible from virtually anywhere. The update also includes improved image quality, push notifications on bids and Twitter integration.

  • Linsanity Continues on eBay

    Linsanity Continues on eBay

    I just… I can’t accidentally the word I’m thinking of to describe my dismay. Believe it or not, I actually get the hype surrounding Jeremy Lin. I really do. He’s singlehandedly provided some much-needed fresh air to a New York Knicks franchise that was struggling to overcome the stain of Isiah Thomas.

    It also helps that Lin’s insanity is happening in the perhaps the media capital of the world; not to mention it’s happening in the day and age of Twitter, which only helps further the legend of Jeremy Lin. But this? That just goes beyond my ability to articulate.

    I understand the attraction of rookie cards to collectors, and after the Stephen Strasburg investment — which was for almost double the Lin acquisition price tag — I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised; but still, when someone drops $21,000 on an athlete’s rookie card, I’m still taken aback.

    Yes, the card was signed and it’s true that Jeremy Lin has had a remarkable, albeit, non-traditional start to his NBA career; and while I’m one to believe that yes his stats are good, he’s also playing in an era where the NBA rules are a lot easier on guards than they when players like Jordan, Magic, and Bird played. Furthermore, after watching Lin and the Knicks get baptized by the Miami Heat, not to mention Deron Williams’ “you can’t guard me” performance, I’m skeptical Lin will remain on his meteoric pace.

    That doesn’t mean he won’t be a very good, perhaps even perenial All-Star level NBA player, but I’m not sure he’s going to be a player whose rookie card, signed though it may be, is worth 21 grand ($21,580.00 to be exact). I, for one, blame the “follow the trend at all costs” that permeates in society.

    Just observe the Galaxy Foam craze that is gripped Orlando last night.

    As for the auction itself, the page is testament to latching onto the current fad and milking it for all it’s worth. According the to description, the auction has been picked up by a number of MSM outlets, including ESPN. The seller, Yair Rozmaryn, apparently paid $1000 for the card, which means he made a $20,580 profit. It would be nice if all sports cards had the ability to offer such a return on investment rate.


    My question is, between the Lin rookie card and the Galaxy Foams, where the hell is all this disposable income coming from?

  • WHI Solutions Acquired By eBay [Breaking]

    WHI Solutions Acquired By eBay [Breaking]

    eBay just announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire WHI Solutions, which provides software and digital catalog solutions for auto parts distributors and retailers.

    eBay’s Richard Brewer-Hay writes about the acquisition on the eBay Ink blog, which explains that eBay is gaining the expanded selection and access to enhanced structured data with the acquisition, which will enable its eBay Motors arm to improve its parts selection. Brewer-Hay writes:

    I’m a fairly stereotypical guy for the most part… I like my beer, my sports, and my action movies. Having said that, I’ve never been much of a gearhead and – in full disclosure – my wife is the one who has negotiated the price of both of my previously owned vehicles. From what I can tell, and I’ve been paying closer and closer attention to it lately, eBay Motors makes it pretty simple to find parts for cars – whether you’re a car enthusiast or not – and the integration of WHI seems to further emphasize that ease of use.

    With WHI, eBay plans to expand its catalog – from auto replacement parts to specialty equipment – to meet the needs of the eBay customer. In addition to the catalog benefits for eBay Motors buyers, sellers will also enjoy a better experience with an easier way to list inventory, with automatically populating listing fields including description, image and vehicle application data using WHI’s catalog of millions of SKUs.

    WHI’s talent, technology and client base will all be integrated into eBay Motors. WHI has offices in New York, Los Angeles and New Jersey, and will remain in those places.

    Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

  • Sony Playstation Vita £199.99 on eBay

    Sony Playstation Vita £199.99 on eBay

    Sony is releasing it’s Playstation Vita in the U.S. and Canada on Febuary 22nd, and eBay is teaming up with Zavvi to offer a pre-order deal of £199.99. The Vita is region-free, so one can get it a little early through this eBay deal for roughly $315 USD.

    £199.99 on eBay is the cheapest online so far, as even on Zavvi’s site, the Vita is £219.45 on pre-order.

    The Vita was launched last December in Japan, with a few issues reported with the console. Gamers encountered lag times, screen freezes and full-on crashes with the system. The portable sold 324,859 units in Japan in it’s opening week, but this figure dropped by 78%, when only 72,479 units shipped the following week. It has been said that the Vita’s price point of $380 in Japan was also part of the issue in the drop in sales. Still, Kazuo Hirai, president of Sony’s Consumer & Products Services group, states, “we have a very good product at a very affordable price. There’s no need to lower the price just because somebody else that happens to be in the video game industry decided they were going to,” in reference to the price of the Nintendo DS.

    The, Vita, powered by AT&T’s Mobile Broadband Network for 3G/Wi-Fi, is also available for pre-order on Sony’s site, starting at $249.

  • Man Finds 26K in Safe Bought on eBay

    Man Finds 26K in Safe Bought on eBay

    Canoga Park, California eBay seller James Labrecque always states in his auctions that “WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET,” all-caps. Well, in one of his recent auctions, $26,000 was included in what the buyer got.

    A Bartlett, TN eBay buyer was able to get the safe for $122.93, later finding all the cash inside after bringing it to a welder. For whatever reason, the buyer decided to mention this to Labrecque, who then asked for half of the money, according to WMC-TV News 5. The buyer reminded Labrecque of his policy of “no returns, and no money back.” Naturally, Labrecque went on to argue that $26K is life-changing money, and that “I mean, if I was in that situation and I found that kind of money and I bought it from someone, I’d say, ‘Here man, I found this money. I’ll give you half of it.’” Right.

    Labrecque claims that after shaking the safe, he didn’t think anything was inside. “I feel like the stupidest idiot in the world,” Labreque told WMC-TV. “I told my friend, I won the stupidest idiot in the world award the other day, you know. I gave away a safe with $26,000 in it.”

    Though, it’s not clear who is more stupid – the guy who would sell a safe without taking a look inside, or the guy who would blow $123 just to see what might be inside a locked safe, like some confused Leprechaun. “I made a mistake, you know, that’s what it boils down to. And it cost me dearly,” Labrecque told New 5.

  • eBay Contrasts: Infographic

    eBay Contrasts: Infographic

    Popular buying/selling/auction site eBay recently released an infographic detailing the contrasts between those who have and haven’t used the site. The information and the details are pretty surprising to read. According to eBay’s blog, the site used what is referred to as “hunch” data to accumulate and form this graphic. According to Hunch.com, Hunch is a “Taste Graph” developed in a platform for taste-based applications. “Our self-serve API is free for non-commercial use” they say.

  • Joe Paterno Memorial Tickets Pulled From eBay

    Joe Paterno Memorial Tickets Pulled From eBay

    Some people looking to cash in on the death of Joe Paterno are out of luck, as eBay has pulled multiple listings offering tickets to the Penn State coach’s public memorial service.

    On Thursday, Penn State plans to hold a service entitled “A Memorial For Joe” inside the 16,000-seat Bryce Jordan Center. It’ll be streamed online and broadcast on cable, but of course some Penn State fans really want to attend. So much so, that tickets to the event “sold out” in just seven minutes after becoming available, according to the AP.

    The tickets were actually free, but on a first come, first serve basis. Over 10,000 tickets were up for grabs, and according to Penn State’s athletic site, ticket orders were limited to two per person. Apparently, not everyone that snatched up tickets actually wanted to attend the event – some had different motives.

    Looking to bank on the legendary sports figure’s popularity (and possibly his recent controversy) some ticket-holders put theirs up on eBay. And before eBay pulled the listings, one of them had reached nearly $100K from about 73 bids.

    There’s some chatter that Penn State faithfuls drove up the price in order to prevent the scalper the satisfaction of making a buck off Joe Paterno’s death, but whatever the case, eBay did eventually pull the listings as they violate this particular policy:

    Some news outlets struggled with accurately reporting Joe Paterno’s death last weekend. It appears some people, in this case, struggled with acceptable social behavior. But enough about Joe Paterno.

  • eBay & Amazon Tussle Over Online Sales Tax – Again

    eBay & Amazon Tussle Over Online Sales Tax – Again

    The 7th Annual State of the Net Conference commenced today featuring leading Internet policy gurus and discussion panels focusing on privacy/security issues, telecommunications regulation and similar topics. One episode of head-butting occurred between representatives of eBay and Amazon over the volatile issue of online sales tax.

    This isn’t the first time the two online businesses have clashed over the disputed issue of regulating online sales tax. According the eCommerce Bytes, eBay’s head of North American government relations, Becky Relic, spoke up in support of small businesses who, she claims, stand to lose business if forced to compete toe-to-toe with Amazon. Relic said, “We need to see all small businesses grow, all of them thrive.”

    In the opposite corner, Paul Misener, Vice President of Amazon Global Public Policy, countered by saying that “the time is now for Congress to act” and that Amazon’s view is that “Congress may, should and feasibly can allow the state to require out-of-state sellers to collect [taxes].” eCommerce Bytes continues:

    Misener and other backers of sales tax reform are quick to point out that the legislation would set minimum annual revenue thresholds that sellers would have to meet before the states could require them to collect the taxes. The Marketplace Fairness Act pending in the Senate, for instance, would exempt sellers with annual remote sales of less than $500,000, meaning that more than 99 percent of online sellers would not have to collect the tax, according to Misener.

    No mention of Relic or Misener was mentioned on the State of the Net’s agenda so it remains to be seen if the scuffle will surface on State of the Net’s YouTube channel, where they’ve been posting video of panels and keynote speakers.

  • CES 2012: Ebay Projects $8 Billion In 2012

    CES 2012: Ebay Projects $8 Billion In 2012

    Ebay CEO John Donahoe announced at CES 2012 yesterday that “eBay is projecting 2012 global mobile gross merchandise volume (GMV) to surpass $8 billion.”

    As Zach Walton reported yesterday, Paypal also projects that its payment volume will be $7 billion in 2012.

    Both eBay and Paypal are riding an ever-climbing wave of sales made on mobile devices – smartphones, tablets, etc. Ebay’s sales volume for mobile sales doubled last year to $5 billion from the nearly $2 billion bar set in 2010. Paypal’s volume was up from $4 billion in 2010 to that $7 billion mark in 2011.

    Smartphones and tablets allow consumers to find and purchase items without having to be at a home computer or even laptop. Ebay boasts multiple apps for iPhone that include features that aid in last-minute bidding, research of sales trends, even barcode scanning to help fill in item descriptions. For buyers, the app gives you alerts, price comparison capability with barcode scanning, and, of course, pay in the app.

    We reported last week that Walmart is spending tons of money to acquire and develop mobile purchasing position in their market.