| eBay's rising star plots revamp of 'flea market'By Richard Waters Published: December 18 2007 02:00 | Last updated: December 18 2007 02:00Tinkering with the core mechanisms of the world's busiest e-commerce site is not something to be undertaken lightly. Yet John Donahoe, head of eBay's marketplace division, is preparing an overhaul for early next year that amounts to a major revamp of eBay's core business.If successful, it could revive the company's flagging growth while also strengthening his own standing as the likely eventual successor to Meg Whitman as eBay's chief executive.A former managing partner of consulting firm Bain who joined eBay nearly three years ago, Mr Donahoe has cast an outsider's dispassionate eye over some of the site's practices and found them wanting. During an interview at eBay's headquarters in Silicon Valley, he talks with the clear and untroubled certainties of the consultant, and has the prescriptions to match."A year ago, we had 14 per cent of global e-commerce, we're the largest e-commerce provider, and our home page still looks like a flea market," he says. "The world around us had changed. In particular our buyers' experience hadn't kept up.".............The changes to come in 2008 could prove more significant, and show eBay grappling with some of the new realities of its market.One of those realities is that auctions, while still the largest part of its business, are no longer so dominant. In the past three years, fixed-price sales have risen from 28 to 41 per cent of the total, Mr Donahoe says.To adjust, eBay is looking at moving away from its traditional initial listing fees and instead taking a bigger commission on a sale...... [ Read Full Article ]© Copyright The Financial Times Ltd 2007 |