eBay CEO touts threat of Amazon as Senate weighs online sales tax legislation

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The U.S. Senate is expected to vote on a bill this week which could make it easier for states to collect sales tax from purchases made online, whether the online retailer has a physical retail presence in the state or not. The measure is expected to pave the way to a more cohesive sales tax collection… Read More…

eBay’s amazing turnaround, and why CEO John Donahoe doesn’t like seeing Amazon boxes in the offices

John Donahue

High-ranking Microsoft execs like CEO Steve Ballmer bristle when they see employees carrying MacBooks or iPhones around the office. So, what’s the equivalent at e-commerce juggernaut eBay? Well, you guessed it: Amazon.com boxes. At least that’s how we’re interpreting a comment that eBay CEO John Donahoe made to employees at a recent gathering in Silicon… Read More…

eBay continues to grow in Amazon’s backyard, inks big lease in Bellevue

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eBay continues to bolster its operations in the Seattle region, inking a lease for 53,000 square feet at the One Bellevue Center building in downtown Bellevue, reports The Seattle Times. The lease is about double the company’s existing space in Redmond where eBay expanded in 2011 after hiring former Microsoft veteran Ken Moss to lead… Read More…

Starbucks steel gift card going for over $1K on Ebay

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First Twinkies, now Starbucks gift cards. On Thursday, Starbucks unveiled 5,000 special edition $450 gift cards made of steel and sold only on Gilt.com. Those sold out in less than one minute and now coffee — or steel, for that matter — aficionados are bidding more than $1,000 for the cards today on Ebay. The steel… Read More…

Shopping 2020: What will the future of e-commerce look like in eight years?

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Imagine, for a second, that it is the year 2004. The latest trends are Bluetooth technology, the revolution of video blogs and a promising iPod competitor called the Dell Digital Jukebox. (You’ll get a kick out of this 2004 Forbes article on tech trends.) Now fast forward to 2012. How will new technology play a… Read More…

Study: The IPO slow down is costing the U.S. jobs

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Facebook’s initial public offering last week has sparked a new conversation about IPOs. But what really does it mean when a company offers shares to the public, and why should we care? A new study from the Kauffman Foundation tries to answer that question, analyzing the revenues and jobs created by companies before and after… Read More…

From Facebook to Zynga: A guide to the tech giants establishing Seattle outposts

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Another day, another tech giant sets up shop in Seattle. Perhaps no story over the past 24 months has shaped the technology community in Seattle as much as the arrival of the powerhouses of tech. Drawn to the region by a stable of anchor tenants like Amazon.com, Expedia and Microsoft and enticed by top-notch computer… Read More…

Microsoft’s purchase of Skype helps bolster eBay earnings

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eBay reported strong fourth quarter earnings Wednesday, driven largely by the sale of Skype to Microsoft last May for $8.5 billion. eBay reported net income for the fourth quarter of $2 billion, with revenue jumping 35 percent to $3.4 billion. That compared to net income of $559 million and revenue of $2.5 billion for the same… Read More…

Infographic: Amazon versus Apple, PayPal, Dropbox and the rest of the tech world

Why is Jeff Bezos so happy?

We’ve been watching in amazement over the past 18 months or so as Amazon.com has risen to prominence as one of the most dominant companies in technology. (And yes, in case you’ve missed out, Amazon is more than an online retailer these days). Amazon Web Services is a pioneering juggernaut, and its recent forays into… Read More…

Amazon vs. eBay: Opposing views on sales tax legislation

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An Amazon.com executive today told Congress that the company supports federal legislation providing a constitutional framework for states to collect taxes on online retailers — including those based out of state. However, the Seattle company cautioned against allowing too many of its smaller rivals to avoid the tax. Amazon says it supports the Marketplace Fairness Act introduced… Read More…