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eBay vs. Craigslist Courtroom Fisticuffs Start Today

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on from the grab-the-popcorn dept.

davekleiman writes with news that former eBay chief exec Meg Whitman took the stand today to kick off the battle that has been brewing between Craigslist and eBay. The waters are further clouded by Whitman's upcoming bid for governor of California. "eBay wants to shed light on the 'coercive plan' that it has said Newmark hatched with Craigslist Chief Executive Jim Buckmaster to dilute eBay's ownership stake, ultimately stripping eBay of its seat on the Craigslist board. Craigslist has hit back that eBay used its board seat to glean information to launch its own classified site, Kijiji. Craigslist also claims that eBay used deceptive tactics to direct traffic away from its site."

5 of 129 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Cross Ownership by MightyMartian · · Score: 5, Funny

    What made eBay and Craigslist different? Or think they were different?

    It's easier to find prostitutes on Craigslist.

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    The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
  2. Kijiji? by FrankSchwab · · Score: 5, Funny

    OK, I use Ebay a lot, and Craigslist even more, and this is the first time I've ever heard of Kijiji.

    Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kijiji) says it's been up since 2007 in the US.

    Sounds like an epic failure to me. I wonder if it carries any Zune ads?

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    And the worms ate into his brain.
  3. Re:Cross Ownership by Trepidity · · Score: 5, Informative

    It does happen in some industries, and the law on it is pretty complex and murky (and varies by country). When it's below a certain threshold, so the minority stake doesn't exercise control over the company, and has representation basically only to ensure its rights as a minority shareholder are respected, it's considered a "passive investment" and not subject to the usual antitrust scrutiny that would ensue if, say, eBay actually tried to buy Craigslist (or buy a stake considered controlling). A lot of economists are a bit skeptical of just how passive such passive investments are, though. The keywords +"passive investment" +competitors bring up a whole pile of writing on the subject...

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    10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
  4. Just one question by Locke2005 · · Score: 5, Funny

    WTF is a "Kijiji"?!? It looks like a name attempt at a logo by someone with an obsession with dotted letters.

    "Ow, man! You kicked me right in the kijiji!"

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    I've abandoned my search for truth; now I'm just looking for some useful delusions.
  5. Re: It's easier to find prostitutes on Craigslist. by Bob_Who · · Score: 5, Funny

    ....and yet its easier to get screwed on eBay!!