An analyst attending a recent meeting of eBay PowerSellers, a group of companies that raise 75 percent or more of their income from eBay, said revolution could be in the air for the online
auctioneer. Increasingly, Google is moving in on eBay's territory and limiting its growth potential, and the PowerSellers are taking notice. Already, 50 percent of the conference's attendees reported
listing products on Google Base, the search giant's free database of products and services. While Google Base has yet to become a significant driver of sales for ecommerce companies, its certainly
represents a new opportunity, and one that doesn'tyet--clip sales generated from using the service. Jim Friedland, the Cowen and Co. analyst quoted in the article, added that more and more small to
mid-sized businesses are directing resources away from eBay to Google AdWords and Google Base. Given the rising competition from the search giant, Friedland says he doesn't expect eBay to be able to
re-accelerate growth in the near future.
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