Daily Finance writer Anthony Massucci has written a wonderful piece describing the challenges faced by eBay, which commanded an enormous share of the online marketplace ten years ago but has seen its fortunes decline ever since.

There’s a lot to summarize here, but I found the following section regarding the failures of eBay’s online [...]]]>

Daily Finance writer Anthony Massucci has written a wonderful piece describing the challenges faced by eBay, which commanded an enormous share of the online marketplace ten years ago but has seen its fortunes decline ever since.

There’s a lot to summarize here, but I found the following section regarding the failures of eBay’s online search function fascinating–

Investor Sandi Lynne says that while eBay’s Internet payment service PayPal is adding revenue and the company is selling off its Web-calling service Skype, eBay needs to focus on improving the search function on its site. “If I’m searching for something specific, it gives you too much stuff in addition to what you asked for,” says Lynne.

When she searched for a Mercedes X600 on eBay Motors, she got the Mercedes emblem, the wheel rims, the original owners manual, yet she wanted only a list of the available cars. “That’s why eBay is doing worse that ever before,” she said. “The more you try to refine the search, the more likely you are to have it tell you your search yielded no results. Amazon’s search is the opposite.”

Many outside the e-commerce sector underestimate just how much benefit (or harm) can be conferred upon a company by its search results. Whether Donahoe can turn the ship around at eBay remains to be seen– selling off Skype, a deal which never made sense to begin with, was certainly a good first step. Taking on opponents like Amazon and Walmart will not be an easy fight.

via Massucci’s Take: EBay’s plan to be more retailer than auctioneer is one risky bid — DailyFinance.

“I’m sure there will always be dedicated devices, and they may have a few advantages [...]]]> The battle brewing between Apple and Amazon keeps heating up. First, Amazon took aim at Apple’s iTunes market share with its Digital Download service. Now, Apple CEO Steve Jobs has fired a shot across the bow at Amazon’s next-generation e-book reader:

“I’m sure there will always be dedicated devices, and they may have a few advantages in doing just one thing,” Jobs said. “But I think the general-purpose devices will win the day. Because I think people just probably aren’t willing to pay for a dedicated device.”

Make no mistake: the iTablet (or whatever it’s called) is as much a threat to Amazon as it is to netbook manufacturers like Acer. The rumored price-point is $600, which isn’t bad for Apple, considering that fanboys were willing to pay that much for the first-generation iPhone.

via Steve Jobs: Apple Tablet Is Going To Destroy The Kindle (AAPL, AMZN).

“We will not be ceding our content rights to the fine people [...]]]> An interesting development in the small but growing field of eBooks: who owns the relationship between content and customer? Amazon clearly believes it should do so, following in the model of Apple’s iPod. Newspaper tycoon and Wall Street Journal owner Rupert Murdoch feels otherwise:

“We will not be ceding our content rights to the fine people who created the Kindle. We will control the prices for our content and we will control our relationships with our customers. Any device maker or website which doesn’t meet these basic criteria on content will not be doing business long-term with News Corporation.”

News Corp CEO Rupert Murdoch

Which model will prevail? Or will publications with hefty clout (like the Journal) own the relationship while the little guys cede control to the device manufacturers?

via Murdoch: Why News Corp. Isn’t BFF With Amazon | paidContent .