eBay 2003 Annual Report Download - page 62

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high-technology industries, job candidates often consider the value of the stock options they are to receive
in connection with their employment. Fluctuations in our stock price may make it more diÇcult to retain
and motivate employees whose stock option strike prices are substantially above current market prices.
Our industry is intensely competitive.
We currently or potentially compete with a number of companies providing both particular categories
of goods and broader ranges of goods. The Internet provides new, rapidly evolving and intensely
competitive channels for the sale of all types of goods. We expect competition to intensify in the future.
The barriers to entry into these channels are relatively low, and current oÉine and new competitors can
easily launch online sites at a nominal cost using commercially available software or partnering with any
one of a number of successful electronic commerce companies.
Our broad-based competitors include the vast majority of traditional department, warehouse, discount,
and general merchandise stores, emerging online retailers, online classiÑed services, and other shopping
channels such as oÉine and online home shopping networks. These include most prominently: Wal-Mart,
Kmart, Target, Sears, Macy's, JC Penney, Costco, OÇce Depot, Staples, OÇceMax, Sam's Club,
Amazon.com, Buy.com, AOL.com, Yahoo! Shopping, MSN, QVC, and Home Shopping Network/
HSN.com. A number of companies have launched a variety of services that provide new channels for
buyers to Ñnd and buy items from sellers of all sizes. For example, sites such as Buy.com, DealTime,
Google's Froogle, MySimon.com, Nextag.com, and Yahoo! Product Search oÅer shopping search engines
that allow consumers to search the Internet for speciÑed products. Similarly, sellers are increasingly
acquiring new customers by paying for search-related advertisements on search engine sites. We use
product search engines and paid search advertising to channel users to our sites, but these services also
have the potential to divert users to other online shopping destinations.
We also face competition from local, regional, and national specialty retailers and exchanges in each
of our categories of products. Many competitors have been successful at establishing marketplaces that
cater to a particular retail category, such as vehicles, tickets, or sporting goods. Additional category-speciÑc
competitors include:
Antiques and Art: Bonhams & ButterÑelds, Christie's, Sotheby's, Ruby Lane, Tias, Allposters.com,
Artnet, Art.com, Barewalls.com, Guild.com, other regional auction houses, antique and art dealers and
galleries, antique and collectible fairs, estate sales
Automotive (used cars and parts): Advance Auto Parts, AutoByTel.com, Autonation.com,
AutoPartsPlace, AutoTrader.com, Autozone, Barons Ltd., Barrett-Jackson, California Classics, Car Parts
Wholesale, Car-Part.com, CarMax, Cars.com, CarsDirect.com, Collectorcartraderonline.com, CSK Auto,
Dealix, Discount Auto Parts, Dupont Registry, eClassics.com, ExpressAutoparts.com, General Parts
(Carquest), Genuine/NAPA, Hemmings, iMotors.com, JC Whitney, Kragen, Kruse International,
OpenAuto.com, PartsAmerica.com, RM Auctions, Inc., TraderOnline, Trader Publishing, newspaper
classiÑeds, used car dealers, swap meets, car clubs, vehicle recyclers
Books, Movies, Music: Abebooks.com, Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Barnesandnoble.com,
Alibris.com, Blockbuster, BMG, Columbia House, Best Buy, CDNow, Express.com, Emusic.com, Tower
Records/Tower Records.com
Business-to-Business: Ariba, BidFreight.com, Bid4Assets, BizBuyer.com, bLiquid.com, Buyer Zone,
CloseOutNow.com, Commerce One, Concur Technologies, DoveBid, FreeMarkets, Iron Planet, labx.com,
Oracle, Overstock.com, PurchasePro.com, RicardoBiz.com, Sabre, SurplusBin.com, Ventro, VerticalNet
Clothing and Accessories: Abercrombie.com, AE.com, Amazon.com, BlueÖy.com, Coldwater-
Creek.com, Delias.com, Dockers.com, Eddie Bauer, The Gap, Gap Online sites, J. Crew, JCrew.com,
LandsEnd.com, The Limited, LLBean.com, Macy's, The Men's Wearhouse, Overstock.com, Payless.com,
Ross, Urbanq.com, VictoriasSecret.com, Yoox.com
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