AuctionBytes Blog
News and insight focusing on ecommerce and the online auction industry
by Ina Steiner, Editor of AuctionBytes.com
November 03, 2009
PayPal Mania Leads to Talk of eBay Corporate Name Change
By: Ina Steiner
Tue Nov 3 2009 22:28:00
CNBC reporters were among those swept up in the PayPal Mania taking place in San Francisco at the first dedicated PayPal developers conference. Even attending virtually, I could sense that something was different about this DevCon despite the lack of Cirque du Soleil acrobatics or "Cheers" impersonators of previous eBay/PayPal shared conferences. It was as if the smell of money was in the air, even before the Venture Capitalists show up for their panel tomorrow.
In an interview with eBay CEO John Donahoe from the floor of the convention center, a CNBC reporter asked, "When does eBay decide to turn its back on marketplaces and just become PayPal Inc.?"
John Donahoe said he could care less about the name of the company (ouch). The DevCon was all about opening up the PayPal platform, which he compared to Apple's opening of the iPhone to third-party applications. In his keynote address this morning, Mr. Donahoe said he had given PayPal an unlimited budget to hire the people to make it happen.
Mobile payments was top of mind, and Mr. Donahoe said the eBay iPhone app will do $500 million of volume this year. PayPal demonstrated a mobile payment toolkit to embed payments directly into mobile applications - starting with iPhone. During a demo at the conference, one developer showed off ShopSavvy, which allows users to scan a product barcodes at a retail store and find the best prices available online and at local retail stores. "Previously, if a user found the best price at an online retailer, they would have to go to that retailer's Web site to complete the purchase. Now, PayPal users can purchase products directly from the ShopSavvy application."
PayPal also announced that starting in Q2 2010, it will offer pricing for developers building applications in markets that are traditionally served by cash and checks, such as rent, consulting businesses or payroll.
PayPal gave away free netbook computers to all attendees and had recruiters on the show floor - it's hiring for all areas: software engineering, architecture, strategy, program management, and it's expanding at all of its U.S. offices, including those in San Jose, Maryland, Phoenix, Austin and Omaha.
The excitement of today's PayPal Developers Conference reminds me of the early conferences eBay hosted for its community of users. RIP eBay Live, long live PayPal DevCon.
PayPal Mania Leads to Talk of eBay Corporate Name Change
by: Et tu, Brute!
Tue Nov 3 22:38:02 2009
Time to start swinging the hammer to push for Paypal to become regulated and monitored by the FDIC like the banks!
PayPal Mania Leads to Talk of eBay Corporate Name Change
by: On Lies and Secrets
Tue Nov 3 22:49:52 2009
I would have to agree with the posters on an earlier thread - that Paypal needs to be regulated like a bank and they should follow banking regulations with government oversight. IMO, it cannot continue to operate the way that it does currently - seemingly arbitrarily deciding when to give people access to their own money and when to deny access.
Paypal has a large and vocal set of detractors who have existed even before ebay acquired paypal. There is deep and entrenched hatred of paypal among many who have been burned by the service. I suspect the more attention that ebay corporation calls to paypal, the more paypal horror stories will circulate publicly. The paypal brand has been going the way of the ebay brand for some time now. The 'paypal' holds on ebay transactions have only accelerated this trend.
PayPal Mania Leads to Talk of eBay Corporate Name Change
by: Paypal sucks
Tue Nov 3 23:08:50 2009
Over half their businesses are out of the USA and these scum will do nothing to protect users shipping outside of the USA. God these people are so morally bankrupt filth. Only a moron would think they can prosper without ebay & vice versa, that's their main business. I'd never trust PP when I can use a credit card with customer service.
PayPal Mania Leads to Talk of eBay Corporate Name Change
by: x_powerseller
Tue Nov 3 23:19:51 2009
Hey, the kid wants now to be just like Apple when he grows up!
Fire the maniac J.D, Norrington and the fat, useless & liar Griff NOW!
PayPal Mania Leads to Talk of eBay Corporate Name Change
by: Oppenheimer
Wed Nov 4 02:41:15 2009
McDonalds, Carls Jr, Burger King...who cares what we call this darn thing! As long as the suckers spend their money here on our superior ''M''/ device/app/snakeoil....
PayPal Mania Leads to Talk of eBay Corporate Name Change
by: Pete
Wed Nov 4 02:52:28 2009
As another hidden fee takes place …Paypal normally transfers funds to sellers UK bank accounts in 3-5 days..but now for a 5 GBP fee you can get the transfer of YOUR funds in ONLY 1-2 days, eBay are a rip off company and this shows it all too well
PayPal Mania Leads to Talk of eBay Corporate Name Change
by: fruity
Wed Nov 4 03:49:49 2009
POS comes to mind
You know... Point of Sale. lol
PayPal Mania Leads to Talk of eBay Corporate Name Change
by: o.c.d.collectibles
Wed Nov 4 03:54:45 2009
Are we all surprised? Can I say, "I told You so"? I thought ebay would actually survive a little and get sold to ali-baba, but I guess paypal will do so well, ebay can just die a natural death, slow and easy!
PayPal Mania Leads to Talk of eBay Corporate Name Change
eBay needs more that a name change and a new ad campaign, it needs a new executive committee, one that has some understanding of marketing and just what is (was) the eBay marketplace. The current incumbents clearly have not got a clue and are quite deservedly continuing their journey on down the sewer; undoubtedly, eventually to reach the even rougher waters of the ocean ...
For all the eBay “buyers” who are still trying to find a bargain on eBay and are (hopefully) agile enough to avoid all the shill-bidding professional sellers that now infest eBay, eBay recently touted two Diamond/Titanium PowerSellers as major success stories of selling on eBay. An analysis of bidding patterns on these two sellers’ auctions suggests that they both could be habitual shill bidders. A full comment thereon at: http://www.auctionbytes.com/forum/phpBB/viewtopic.php?p=6502763
And “eBay is turning around” (and around, and around)? Take a look at the very few islets of green (ie, shilled? auctions and pseudo? Best Offer “sales”) in the ocean of “blood” in the completed listings for one of these sellers, at: http://completed.shop.ebay.com.au/beckertime/m.html?LH_Complete =1&_trkparms=65%253A13%257C66%253A4%257C39%253A1&_ipg=&_sc=1&_sop=13&_trksid=p3911.c0.m14&_pgn=1
Where’s the “Ho Ho Ho” taking eBay? http://www.auctionbytes.com/forum/phpBB/viewtopic.php?p=65028 77
PayPal Mania Leads to Talk of eBay Corporate Name Change
by: Mark
Wed Nov 4 05:37:00 2009
Maybe if Paypal becomes the focus, change on Ebay will slow down...
Mark :-)
PayPal Mania Leads to Talk of eBay Corporate Name Change
by: Mark
Wed Nov 4 05:39:50 2009
I still think Ebay have missed the boat.
They could have been the worldwide hub for small business.
If they had concentrated on that, they would have continued to grow is my suspicion.
They then would not then have needed the big corporations.
They would have then retained their user base which seems to have dwindled.
Paypal is obviously the jewel in the crown, but the crown was always Ebay...
Mark
PayPal Mania Leads to Talk of eBay Corporate Name Change
by: joe
Wed Nov 4 08:06:52 2009
Once PayPal spins off... eBay is dead...
Diversify as quick as possible from eBay is you want to survive.
Moneybookers is the next PayPal, remember it's best to offer as many PAYMENT OPTIONS as you can.
Donahoe is a real NUTCASE...
PayPal Mania Leads to Talk of eBay Corporate Name Change
by: kimbers
Wed Nov 4 08:38:43 2009
"John Donahoe said he could care less about the name of the company (ouch)."
This is probably one of the most honest comments he has ever made.
Of course he doesn't care about the name of the company, he has damn near completely destroyed the brand.
Jerk.
PayPal Mania Leads to Talk of eBay Corporate Name Change
by: It's all a joke
Wed Nov 4 08:42:50 2009
Paypal....just another Ebay scam. Paypal, free and ALWAYS will be......remember? Never leave a balance in that account, and your real bank account that you have it linked to should never have a big balance in it either!! Protect your money! Paypal is nobody's pal, and it is NOT a safe place for you or your money!!
PayPal Mania Leads to Talk of eBay Corporate Name Change
by: jim
Wed Nov 4 09:32:54 2009
''John Donahoe said he could care less about the name of the company (ouch). ''
Wow he really did say ''could care less.'' I don't think that means what he thinks it means.
PayPal Mania Leads to Talk of eBay Corporate Name Change
by: Ebay Pays My Minimum Monthly Payment
Wed Nov 4 10:01:29 2009
Does anybody have any new names they can think of for the new ebay (besides Ebafia Inc. of course)
PayPal Mania Leads to Talk of eBay Corporate Name Change
by: RicRoe
Wed Nov 4 11:43:30 2009
eBay has suffered so much damage at the hands of John Donahoe, they are considering changing the company name in an attempt to hide the damage his leadership has brought upon the marketplace.
If the company changes it's name to PayPal, and the focus changes to PayPal, then fly the warning flags, PayPal is in trouble.
If the inept neophyte CEO changes his focus from eBay to PayPal, then PayPal is surely headed for some destructive innovation of it's own.
Before any name change, before any change in focus, the imperative thing is that John Donahoe is held accountable for the failures his leadership has brought on eBay's marketplace.
Unless John Donahoe is thrown his golden parachute along with the rest of his hand picked team of yes men & women, changing the name will make eBay the red headed bastard step child of the family.
That said, let me apologize to red headed bastard step children everywhere.
PayPal Mania Leads to Talk of eBay Corporate Name Change
by: Ebays death disruptive innovation
Wed Nov 4 12:55:09 2009
Who cares about the Ebay name? Nobody now that disruptive innovation has destroyed Ebay ,So the monkey jumps to the next tree....Paypal? Only problem is Paypal is hated just as much as Ebay .Both are mudded brands!
PayPal Mania Leads to Talk of eBay Corporate Name Change
by: nora
Wed Nov 4 14:02:59 2009
Paypal is a parasite and sucking the life out of the once loved eBay.
“Parasitism is a type of symbiotic relationship between organisms of different species where one organism, the parasite, benefits at the expense of the host.” “Parasites reduce host fitness in many ways” –Wickipedia
This is what I think of, when I think of Paypal. Some nasty blood sucking organism feeding off eBay.
Paypal is NOT special.
Without eBay, Paypal would be just another payment system. That’s why they can’t separate the two companies; eBay gives validity to the Paypal name. I could care less about the over-hyped, blood-sucking Paypal.
PayPal Mania Leads to Talk of eBay Corporate Name Change
by: Ming the Merciless
Wed Nov 4 14:18:15 2009
PayBay PayBafia
It's inconceivable to me that The Ho would just "kill" ebafia without first trying to "monetize" its death or selling it which might be redundant depending on who bought it.
The Noise can do for PayPal for what it did for ebay. Ready, set, go!
Marvin is correct about filing complaints with your state's bank regulatory agency if you've been a victim of arbitrayr account holds and rolling reserves.
Remember, if it gets much bigger it will "too big to fail" and will enhance its policies of victimization at will.
CNBC reporters were among those swept up in the PayPal Mania taking place in San Francisco at the first dedicated PayPal developers conference. Even attending virtually, I could sense that something was different about this DevCon despite the lack of Cirque du Soleil acrobatics or "Cheers" impersonators of previous eBay/PayPal shared conferences. It was as if the smell of money was in the air, even before the Venture Capitalists show up for their panel tomorrow. 
