The Journal has the story: EBay Talks to Microsoft, Yahoo About a Common Foe: Google
From the piece, which requires paid subscription:
EBay Inc. is talking to both Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corp. to determine whether one of them might be a worthy ally against a common threat: Google Inc.
After years of working closely with the search giant, eBay last year became alarmed as Google started assaulting its turf in multiple ways. In one case, Google launched a classified-advertising service that competes directly with eBay’s online auctions and other listings.
This is driven, of course, by Base, but also by Talk and other apps. The Times has a report that is free, covering the Journal news.
Ooh, I hope one of these companies takes E*bay up on the offer. That way Google will have one less competitor to worry about. The management that brought up the Skype buy-out and the inability to see Google Payments from a mile away could knock YHOO or MSFT right out of the running.
I remember reading that some years back, when Meg Whitman got on board, eBay explored selling itself to Yahoo and AOL. For various reasons, they could not work out a deal. Seems to me that a Yahoo/eBay merge or partnership is more likely. It must be quite a wake-up call for eBay, as I think they were initially big fans of Google (and used them much more than MSFT or Yahoo). Now, there one “friend” may turn out to be a foe.
Is the problem that Google is just too damn aggressive and hungry, or is it that they are too successful? Yahoo started Yahoo Auctions and I don’t think eBay had a problem with that. So it may be true that with success too often comes fewer and fewer friends. With the likes of Yahoo, MSFT, and eBay teaming up . . . that is quite a powerful force. Maybe it is eBay’s way of saying, “Be careful not to get too close to our turf, or we will gather others to take you on.”
To Google, eBay is a large customer first, and a competitor a distant second.
>>Yahoo started Yahoo Auctions and I don’t think eBay had a problem with that.
Thats right because the most vivitors come over googles search .
How it looks, when ebay is kicked out the google index ? Ebay is using massive keyword stuffing and more seo-optimizations against the guideline of google.