ebay

A 19-year-old who took to eBay in search of a rare Xbox One 'Day One' edition console thought he had found the perfect gift for his four-year-old son. The only problem: the Xbox One he found listed on the auction site for $735 was for a photograph ... of the new Microsoft video game system, not the console itself. Peter Clatworthy, a resident of Nottingham, England, says he went on eBay in search of the Xbox One shortly after the console launched in late November. Because most stores were sold out of the device, Clatworthy was willing to pay a little more to acquire the new Microsoft hardware. ... (view more)

eBay buyers are being asked to take extra precautions when conducting their online shopping after security specialists warned that a string of hackers had infiltrated the popular auction site. The hackers exploited several unpatched vulnerabilities ... in Firefox and Internet Explorer browsers to create false listings and entice people to bid on fraudulent items. Details of the Stealth Attack Analysts believe that it was an XSS (cross-site scripting) attack that implemented unauthorized java script elements stored on third-party websites. This allowed eBay pages to contain outside email links and ... (view more)

eBay is cutting 1,600 jobs, representing around 10% of its work force. The announcement shortly after the company announced it would spend more than a billion dollars purchasing an online payment service and several overseas classifieds sites. The ... job cuts, the biggest in the firm's history, should save around $150 million a year. The layoffs, covering 1,000 permanent employees and 600 temps, will be spread across the company and will include staff at PayPal (which eBay owns). Chief Executive John Donahoe says the savings will fund greater investment in the firm's services, which may include ... (view more)

Aiming to put a much stronger emphasis on traditional fixed-price retailing, eBay is making dramatic changes to its fee structure. Analysts say it's a move to compete with Amazon, though the company insists it's not abandoning the auction model. The ... main changes include a reduction in listing fees for flat-rate goods to 35 cents per item: previously this had cost as much as $4, depending on the value of the product. This fee now covers multiple identical items, whereas previously sellers had to pay extra to list multiple quantities. In addition, fixed-price listings now last for a month ... (view more)

eBay has escaped potentially huge compensation claims after a court ruled it isn't responsible for trademark infringement by sellers hawking counterfeit goods. The case followed complaints by jeweller Tiffany ... (view more)

A French watchdog is attempting to close down eBay's site in the country, claiming it is failing to protect consumers. The Council of Sales, which regulates auctions, argues that the site should have to follow the same rules as 'bricks and mortar' ... auction houses in France. These rules, passed in 2000 and designed to clamp down on scams, require all auctioneers to have a government permit. The Council says it's put together a series of complaints about shady practices by eBay sellers, including selling a photocopy as an original 18th century painting, or simply scanning images from auction ... (view more)

Ebay, made famous for selling everything from Pez to Picasso, is planning to launch its very own social networking service and promises to offer even more customer-friendly features by the end of 2007. The service will be called "Neighborhoods" and ... encourages all users to post photographs, product reviews and miscellaneous shopping tips for others to peruse at their leisure. The service is intended to create a far more visual and interactive experience compared to the standard text-based discussion forums currently found on the eBay website. (Source: usatoday.com ) While the introduction of ... (view more)