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Ebay May Bid For Sotheby's
absolute writes, "Who would have thought Ebay the online auction site would ever had a chance to buy the venerable 250-year old auction house Sotheby's? Apparently, Ebay is trying to capitalize on the price fixing scandal at Sotheby's to buy it. The story is here." Hmm. I hope they get Sotheby's sniped from them at the last minute by some guy with a perl script. Update: 02/29 12:04 by R : eBay denies any interest in Sotheby's.
if sothebys is going to be sold to ebay on ebay...i think that would be funny at least.
icq:=22921393;
Hmmm, posibility for Picasso's sold on E-Bay. Seriously this could have potential with DSL and VPN. Bids could be verified by digital signatures, and paid for by electronic transfers. Potential for more bidders and higher prices for rarities! Serious bidders could establish holding accounts and have them verified before bidding starts.
"Open code, in other words, can be a check on state power." -Lawrence Lessig
First of all, the idea of Ebay aquiring Sotheby's strikes me as almost the epitome of the e-commerce age conquering the old commerce age (yeah, yeah, cornyy but you get the idea). Sotheby's and Ebay stand at oppposite ends of the auction spectrum, and I can only see that Ebay grabbing Sotheby's as being great for Ebay. For Sotheby's? I'm not so sure.
I'm guessing that Ebay would run Sotheby's as a semi-separate entity, maybe running Sotheby's as the "elite end" of the Ebay site. Ebay could either run Sotheby's exclusively as it is now, could attempt to integrate the two (ie. having net bidding on items for auction at Sotheby's and using this as a "reserve price" for the item), or running Sotheby's as the high-end part of the Ebay site.
Whichever way they go, if Sotheby's is aquired, Ebay will profit. It will be interesting to see what Christie's (Sotheby's 'rival') does if this happens. Will it stay off-line, or enter into a mad rush to try and find a high-profile on-line partner (hello Amazon.com!!).
Cheers,
SuperG
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The shareholder is always right.
Maybe Bill Gates will auction off Microsoft's pieces when the gov't splits them up.
"Damnit, still noone will buy Windows 2000...even for $.49!!"
We can all hope. I think I will go finish the auctioning off my authentic used socks.
what the hell happened in the late 1990's and early 21st century. Internet companies with sky-high valuations that are bleeding red ink like a stuck pig start buying up the "establishment". Although I have little to no doubt that the internet (and associated technologies) will become integral to our every day life the whole stockmarket side of things reminds me of the Tulipomania that spread through Holland in the 1600's. No matter how big you think the internet will be, "investment" companies with no profits and no prospect of profits for some time cannot be considered anything more than speculation (Especially in the high-tech field where things can change so quickly).!
There, did that get off-topic quick enough for you all.
The auction house Ebay wants to buy is very well respected -- if Ebay is successful in buying them out, it'll just be proof to the world that E-commerce is real and is here to stay.
;)
Granted, Ebay is less than ideal because really all that goes on there is the sale of junk items (and lots of scams, etc.), but it is still e-commerce and it still has huge name recognition. Now here is the big question:
If this merger takes place, will Ebay become more like Southeby's or vice-versa?
While I'm a capitalist through and through, I don't believe in buying something just to make a quick buck. I though eBay was above just grabbing quick distressed property. Stockholders be damned, strong companies follow strong ethical standards. If Sotheby's is involved in a scandal, no one should touch them. Buying them is just crass.
It's rare that you're presented with a knob whose only two positions are Make History and Flee Your Glorious Destiny.
Did anyone else read that as a link for other companies (maybe amazon?) to offer competing bids on Sotheby's?
"Bid" turns out to be the ticker symbol for Sotheby Holdings, Inc.
--
The shareholder is always right.
Dear eBay,
e m&item=5789731987123
& item=5789731987123
Heads up! Another eBay user has outbid you on the following item!
SOTHEBY'S AUCTION HOUSE
The current bid amount is: $1,600,000,000.25
The auction closes : Mar-21-00 09:21:24 PST
Of course, your existing bid may be reinstated if this competitor's bid falls through. You can keep an eye on things if there's still plenty time before the auction closes. Visit
http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewIt
Otherwise, you can stay in the running and place another bid. Just visit http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem
Safety tip: now that you're no longer the high bidder, you may be contacted by the seller or another person to sell you a similar item without going through eBay. Because this is against eBay rules and we cannot track such transactions, you would not be eligible for eBay's services that protect buyers, such as insurance or mediation.
If you have any questions, be sure to visit our Help section; it's best to email us from there rather than replying to this message, as replies here can't be processed. Just click http://pages.ebay.com/help/index.html
Good luck with your bidding!
I think that we will see this alot more in the near future. Companies like Ebay, Amazon etc. need to have something to base the valuations on. An existign company with healthy revenues will be bought and the next year the .com-company will show improved results. Maybe even a profit, sending its valuation even higher. It also alows for bloodsucking the revenues of the acquired company.
:-)
Now the rest of you help me on this, cause it is too late here in the Netherlands
Use Adsense for Charity
Posted by CmdrTaco on Sunday February 27, @10:36AM
from the rob-sucks-tarballs dept
Linus Torvalds, creator of Linux, accidentally hit his keyboard with his elbow today. We have yet to receive confirmation that the resulting code will be be included in the next development kernel, but we can never be too sure. Here is the code in full:
This won't compile under GCC, so we can only assume the code is pretty experimental. Look for the tarballs to be released this evening.
Torvalds comments, "What? Oh, yeah, I accidentally hit my keyboard with my elbow when I reached to get my tea. What? Is it part of the new kernel? You're kidding, right?"
We'll update the article as soon as we get more information. The Linux world hasn't been in such frenzied anticipation since the release of kernel 2.3.48.9.2.7.42, which was about ten minutes ago.
Interview: Alan Cox farted
Posted by Hemos on Sunday February 27, @10:34AM
from the whats-that-smell dept
Linux guru and hacker-extrodinaire Alan Cox farted earlier today. What do you think this says about the future of Linux development? Alan's ass will respond to the highest moderated posts later this week.
ESR and JonKatz to participate in "Zealot Deathmatch"
Posted by Roblimo on Sunday February 27, @10:33AM
from the die-bitch-die dept
Open source proponent Eric S. Raymond and Slashdot nutcase JonKatz are reportedly organizing a "Zealot Arena Deathmatch" to raise money for the Apache Software Foundation. The fight is expected to be a tough one, because while Katz is genuinely insane, ESR has the power of girly, elfish looks. A spokesman from Apache says that, "while we don't encourage violence, we'll do anything for money."
VA Linux aquired by Klingons, Rob bows down to new alien masters
Posted by emmett on Sunday February 27, @10:32AM
from the star-shit-enterprise dept
VA Linux Systems, owner of Andover.net, owner of Slashdot.org, owner of Rob's ass, was officially aquired by the Klingon Empire earlier this morning. The Klingons, who have recently taken over Kellogs, GM, and Disney, are looking forward to absorbing more major corporations in the near future. The US Government is discussing investigating the Klingons for holding a monopoly over "every aspect of our lives", to which the Klingons responded, "Puny human scum! I will crush you like a bug and feast upon your steaming entrails." Finally, some competition for Microsoft!
Red Hat and VA stock at all time high!
Posted by CmdrTaco on Sunday February 27, @10:31AM
from the i-am-so-rich dept
Dude, have you heard the market reports today? I am so fucking rich! If this keeps up, I'll be able to stop doing this Slashdot crap! Hell yeah!
I am the Lord.
I am the Lord.
God Hates Moderators.
If eBay buy Sotheby's then the resulting firm is eBay+Sotheby's. If it doesn't perform at least as well as eBay + Sotheby's then the market won't be impressed. "Bloodsucking the revenues of the aquired company" may be good if those revenues can produce better returns in the e-industry than in the traditional industry. If not, the combined company's shareprice will dive when it fails to make good earnings.
For an internet company to buy a traditional company makes good sense, because it means more diversification and less risk. If the market suddenly gets scared of e-commerce then the whole company won't be worthless. This is just the same as big companies whose assets include Dollars, Yen and Euros. If one currency nosedives, then the company doesn't get hit too hard.
perl -e 'fork||print for split//,"hahahaha"'
Will Sotheby's rip eBay off and not send them their properety deed, just like the other sellers on online auctions? Or will they just take the money and run, leaving eBay without support for their new auction company they bought?
(Just ranting, hope you find the above funny)
US businesses that currently accept chip and PIN/signature
... but I believe there were examples of companies whose stock had very large price/earnings ratios in the 19th century, and who managed to maintain their share prices as they expanded and became more profitable. Of course 19th century stock markets were somewhat different from those today.
perl -e 'fork||print for split//,"hahahaha"'
This just strikes me as wrong.. Ebay, the 90's born purveyor of chipped Farber and Beanie Babies, is attempting to purchase Sotheby's, a company with letters of incorporation older than most American countries??? That would be like Sam Adams trying to buy out the Guinness name, or Bezos buying up BArnes and Noble,, This 'dot-com' game of market cap and break-even earnings has got to be nipped in the bud before too many of the 'respected' brands are bought on inflated stock and dragged through the mud by the same trash exec's that thought ad banners would be a viable income source.
.sig: Now legally binding!
Sorry, but first of all the market hasn't been too impressed buy the fact that these companies make huge losses.. An improvement might just be the signal they were hoping for to buy even more. Remember the markets don't react to normal valuations. Look for instance at Textron. High profits, but the stock went down. It is about what is hot and what not and what stays hot.
The diversification would be a good argument if we were talking about very different markets. A bit like GE works. Here you can see that the traditional company (thanks for the frase) is the one that is used as a parachute. I think we will see that alot more. You are right about the less risk, but it is for the reason of the traditional companies revenues and solid base. The stock will also be consolidated into one stock and not two separate ones. So it is not like holding different stocks. It will be one company. And treated as such. If one stock nosedives, it is the only stock they have
Use Adsense for Charity
Please. "E-commerce" was a buzzword designed by mega corporations like IBM to attract the souless managers who run this god-forsaken country's companies. What does it mean? In a word: nothing.
-commerce age conquering the old commerce age
There is nothing left to conquer. The "old age" has been dead in the water ever since Reagan was defeated. Since then, it's been a slipperly slide downhill, down which we are being lead by "new-age" business "gurus" who spout their "e-pontifications" and other e-bullshit to whoever is most willing to send them large checks. There is no strategy to plan: you set up a web site, often with a company such as AOL, collect credit card numbers, and if you have the time, send the products to the wrong address. Simple, really.
Putting your company behind 16bit color graphics and fancy domain name means NOTHING if it still run by a few old men in suits. The true power of this "information revolution" is not for the consumer, but for the worker. Why do you need a manager if you can easily communicate with other workers and coordinate your tasks. Aren't you the one writing the code? Then who's a more competent judge of your progress, you and your peers, or some 50 year old MBA in dacron socks? I think the answer is obvious.
The way to "e-business" is not through new methods of selling, but rather through new methods of workplace democratization, where the workers are given control. That, truly, is the only way to thrive in the modern world.
If this is case over the long term, then shareholder capitalism is pointless. The only reason for having publically-traded shares is that "owner power" forces companies to behave profitably in a much more immediate way than mere "consumer power". If you believe that long-term share price is unrelated to profitability then we might as well abolish shareholder's rights and return to consumer-driven capitalism.
I'm not saying that this is absurd, just that it is the consequence of what you claim.
perl -e 'fork||print for split//,"hahahaha"'
Just how many american countries are there anyway?
Amazing to see how far the tech world has come to be in a position to take over everything. Perhaps it also shows how overvalued the tech stocks are. If Ebay does get sotherby's it be kind of cool, if they could take the snooty auctions and bring it to more of a down to earth audience (like us)....
-- Moondog
ZDNET story about it here .
There are, but a much faster way is to just go to www.esnipe.com and queue up as many snipes as you want. I prefer this because my Linux box isn't always on; these guys are. Also, who knows when my cable modem will go out? On an important auction, that's a risk I can't afford to take.
If you're hellbent on doing this yourself, check Freshmeat for "bidwatcher". This will snipe, although it won't run as a daemon so you have to leave it running.
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I think there is a world market for maybe five personal web logs.
Welcome, MyAmazonNickName. You're pre-registered on sothebys.amazon.com. Please accept our Conditions of Sale and you'll be ready to bid. (If you're not MyAmazonNickName, click here.)
[
In order to have commerce work for us through agents, it is a given that prices must be flexible. Be it through barter, auctions, or bulk buying, people need to be able to capitalize on time and opportunity to minimize the price spent on goods.
For the consumer, this could be revolutionary. What would life be like if you could finagle any type of special deal or leverage that wholesalers/dealers/distributors use to get discounts? What if your bot stood on equal ground in bids against institutions?
Static pricing has got maybe ten years left in it. Disagree if you want, but to me /. is a Luddite board anyway - an overwhelming number of you just days ago were singing the praises of newspapers.
That can't be replaced. A big ticket item that you are dying to have for your "collection", picture a Stradavarius, the dignity of the whole affair. That can't be emulated in an online experience. The type of people purchasing at these auctions are the rich elite who would have qualms at buying online just because it lacked some of the status involved in winning a live auction purchase.
E-bay is too trailerpark.
"Share your knowledge. It's a way to achieve immortality." -- Dalai Lama
It seems reasonable that Sothebeys would want to have some sort of internet connection, especially noting the success of eWolfs. Wolfs the premier auction house in Cleveland. A few months ago, they started holding auctions on the web. Items were available for viewing before the auction at their auction house, but virtually all of the bids were done over the internet. As a result, the proceeds from the auction were about double of what was expected. People who did not have the time to spend the entire day at the auction house to bid on an item or two were able to bid.
This has been, as I understand it, rather big news in the professional auction community. Based on this, it is understandable that other auction houses would want to do internet auctions. It makes sense to team up with ebay, rather than trying to reinvent the technology ebay had already developed.
online auctions? Or didn't they file one that yet?
Wired has an article too.
Pablo Nevares, "the freshmaker".
Pablo Nevares, "the freshmaker".
This article from Wired states the contrary...
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