eBay helps to nurture scores of £1m-plus UK enterprises

“Despite a climate of continuing economic uncertainty and fears of a double-dip recession, online businesses are expected to continue to thrive,” eBay said.
Christy Foster said eBay enabled her to transform her life from braving cold early mornings on Oldham market hawking pushchairs and prams into a £6m eBay-based baby equipment enterprise.
“I started off as a market trader, but when I saw that things were going well I decided to try eBay and it really took off,” Ms Foster, company secretary of Online4baby, said. “I set up the company with my husband, my friend and her husband. It is now a full-time job for all of us.”
Ms Foster, 40, said Online4baby, which sells a range of baby equipment and accessories, is expected to turn over £6m this year, and she and her partners will share profits of about £800,000. She said sales increased “dramatically” during the recession as consumers turned to the internet to find better deals.
John Ford, eBay’s director of small and medium enterprises, said: “eBay has always backed British entrepreneurs and it is tremendous to see this surge in the number of thriving online SMEs and start-ups at a time when the rest of the economy has been struggling.
“Despite the recession, over the past two years we’ve seen more than 25,000 people take the plunge and set up their own businesses.
“The success of these million-pound businesses should encourage all entrepreneurs, from those with a long-standing business plan to graduates or school-leavers with a great idea.”
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Upmarket shoppers bag eBay bargains as credit crunch forces rich online

By Luke SalkeldLast updated at 9:38 AM on 18th August 2010

For the fashion-conscious, a recession should never get in the way of looking good.
And the rich who became slightly poorer in the past couple of years have found a rather less exclusive alternative to shopping in their favourite top-end stores  -  using an internet auction site.
A study indicates a massive surge in homeowners from affluent areas using eBay as a way of keeping up appearances. 

Fashion fix: A shopper uses eBay to keep up with the latest trends, an activity which is becoming more popular with wealthy people

The auction site’s own research shows that an increasing number of shoppers who live in expensive areas are using the site to buy cut-price items for their wardrobes.
Demand for high-quality handbags, black dresses, coats and shoes has soared by more than 300 per cent.
eBay Fashion Outlet, the fashion section of the auction site, is used by big-name clothing and retailers such as Karen Millen, Ted Baker and Dune to clear stock swiftly at low prices.
A spokesman said: ‘Many of these people would previously have paid full price for their clothes from some of the most expensive retailers. Now, they need to shop on a budget.
‘We’re seeing the emergence of a new breed of reduced wealth shoppers.
‘They’re still flaunting the labels  -  but keeping the price tag quiet.’
The study analysed the increasing number of people using eBay who live in postcodes which have some of the Britain’s most expensive houses.
Purchases from areas where the very richest people live  -  Belgravia, Knightsbridge and Chelsea  -  have remained relatively unchanged.
However, the picture changes significantly in the next economic tier down.
The increased use of eBay Fashion Outlet since its launch in April has emerged most strongly in affluent areas of London including Fulham, Wandsworth, Clapham and Putney.
Wealthy areas in Leeds, Edinburgh, Belfast and Cardiff are also showing the same trend.

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PayPal gives eBay profits boost

21 July 2010
Last updated at 18:31 ET

Auction site operator eBay has reported a 26% rise in profits for the last three months thanks largely to increased use of its PayPal service.
Profits for the quarter totalled $412m (£272m), the company said, up from $327m a year ago.
Sales were up 20% internationally, but rose only 2% in the US, demonstrating its reliance on international growth.
Ebay’s online payments business, which includes PayPal, saw revenues rise by 22%.
“We are not satisfied with our US results,” said John Donahoe, eBay’s chief executive, in a conference call with investors.
He said the strengthening dollar was also a concern, reducing the value of sales made abroad.
EBay also cut its profit forecast for the year in the expectation that the dollar with strengthen further against international currencies.

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By
Margaret Stone
Last updated at 1:05 AM on 9th June 2010

I sold a laptop on eBay in November 2009. The following March, a ‘chargeback’ was raised against me by Barclaycard, the buyer’s credit card company. This meant it was taking £24.21 from my PayPal account. I contacted the buyer, who confirmed he was satisfied with the laptop and had not initiated the chargeback. The £124.21 was then returned to my account. But then PayPal removed £114 from my account and said it was continuing with the investigation  -  despite having been given further proof from the buyer that they had got it wrong. The buyer had bought another laptop on eBay which was unsuitable, and the chargeback should, in fact, have been raised against this vendor. But PayPal said the chargeback was correct. D.B., Chatham, Kent.

Problem? Margaret Stone can help you with your monetary dilemma

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Apple iPad tops one million sales in 28 days

Sales of Apple’s iPad tablet computer have topped the one million mark in 28
days, the company has said.

The release last Friday of a new 3G model, to supplement the wi-fi version,
helped to boost sales and means that the iPad is selling more than twice as
fast as the iPhone, which took 74 days to reach the one million sales
milestone.

Steve Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, warned that the shortage of iPads was
likely to continue for some time.

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iPad hype reaches fever pitch as queues form outside Apple stores

By
Claire Bates
Last updated at 9:25 AM on 06th April 2010

Apple sold more than 300,000 iPads on its launch day in the U.S.Saturday’s figures included pre-orders of the iPad, a new type of touch-screen device that blends features of the iPhone, electronic book readers and tablet computers.The strong debut, though smaller than when the iPhone was launched, enabled fans such as Mancunian Simon Cox to get his hands on the product.The maths teacher, on a visit to New York, said he immediately used it to email friends from the store after buying it.’It looks fantastic, so nice to hold and play and touch,’ he said, noting that the device is smaller than he expected. ‘It’s easier to carry around. I certainly know I’ll use it when I’m out and about.’
Crunch time: Customers braved the rain in Chicago to be among the first to buy Apple’s new tablet deviceQueues were considerably smaller than the crowds which gathered for the iPhone’s debut in July 2007, according to reports. On the iPhone’s launch weekend it was reported that up to 525,000 phones had been sold.
However, while it sells for $499 (£325) in store iPads have been spotted for sale on eBay for $630 (£411) to $650 (£424).
In addition, Apple said that iPad
owners downloaded over a million applications from its app store and
more than 250,000 electronic books on Saturday.Publishers are hoping the device will help stem the decline in book sales.
Tablets have been available in one form or another since
the 1990s, without ever catching on. The iPad will therefore push Apple’s ability to conquer new markets to the limit.Still, analysts have scaled up their sales predictions since the launch.Gene Munster from Piper Jaffray & Co’s said initial sales may have reached 700,000 units, more than double his initial prediction of 200,000 to 300,000 devices.Meanwhile Toni Sacconaghi from Sanfrod C Berstein & Co’s said Apple may sell around five million iPads in the first year, compared with 6.1million iPhones over the same period.
Waiting in line: Customers wait for their turn to purchase the iPad, with prices starting at $499

Head to head: Amazon have dropped their $9.99 price cap on eBook prices for their Kindle (right) as Apple prepares to launch their iPad (left) in the U.S on Saturday

Apple had skillfully notched up the
hype in the run up to launch. Last week they published 11
guided video tours of the iPad and its software. This
was followed by the iPad appearing in an episode of the popular ABC
series ‘Modern Family’, as a sought-after birthday gift for one of the
characters. Then on Thursday, a handful of
American reviewers (as well as Stephen Fry) were finally given the device to test
out, and gave surprisingly positive responses across the
board.IPAD REVIEWED’For me, my iPad is like a gun lobbyist’s rifle: the only way you will take it from me is to prise it from my cold, dead hands.’ Stephen Fry, Time Magazine’Apple’s tablet is fun, simple, stunning to look at and blazingly fast.’Edward C. Baig, USA Today’It’s an entirely new category of mobile device.’Bob ‘Dr Mac’ LeVitus, TechBlog’I can tell you that the device just makes sense. Is the iPad cheap? No. Is it flawless? Not at all… (but) the Apple iPad is a very convincing debut.’ Tim Gideon, PC Mag
Many gadget gurus had derided the
tablet computer at its January launch, as a lack-lustre bigger version
of the iPhone with few new features. But
critics from the Wall Street Journal and New York Times both praised
the iPad’s ease of use and battery life - which lasted longer than
Apple’s claim of 10 hours.Reviewers at both papers said the tablet computer, which goes on sale in the UK later this month, works
nicely for web surfing or consuming media like video and books.’If you’re mainly a web surfer,
note-taker, social-networker and emailer, and a consumer of photos,
videos, books, periodicals and music … this could be for you,’
Mr Mossberg said.

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FBI investigates cyber attack on Citigroup, WSJ reports

Reuters

Published: 7:02AM GMT 23 Dec 2009

“There has been no breach and there have been no associated losses,” Citigroup
said in a statement.

“Occasionally, as with virtually all financial institutions, there are
instances of fraud or breaches of third-party systems that result in our
taking actions to protect our customers and Citi,” the bank added.

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eBay faces hefty compensation bill after website crashes following massive pre-Christmas surge

By
Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 1:58 PM on 23rd November 2009

The eBay website crashed over the weekend but has now been restored
The eBay website crashed over the weekend following a surge in the number of items for sale.The technical issue resulted from a huge increase in live listings as sellers ramped up for Christmas.Millions of online shoppers were left unable to search for items on the website following the computer system failure.Yesterday, eBay said it had restored the search function after the glitch led to searches returning either limited or no results throughout Saturday.The global e-commerce and payments company said it has more than 200million live listing - 33 per cent more than at this time a year ago.The technical issue, once identified, was easily fixed and implemented
across the site’s servers on Saturday afternoon and evening, eBay said.But the firm could be left with a hefty bill to compensate sellers for losses caused by the outage.A spokesman for the eBay told the Financial Times: ‘Rest assured that we will assess the economic impact of this issue and will be compensating sellers appropriately.’In the meantime we will be issuing full fee credits for affected listings.’Geoffrey Holland, a Vancouver-based merchant who sells CDs and DVDs, estimated his losses at $500-$600 (£302-£363).He told the newspaper: ‘I would normally have expected to sell more than 100 items. Yesterday I sold 11.This year eBay has encouraged large firms to sell more items on the site and smaller sellers claims this has put a strain on the system.

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Ebay closes in on sale of Skype

EBay’s sale of Skype to an investment group for $1.9 billion is set to close
within a month as a deal to settle a bitter legal battle over the future of
the internet telephony company neared completion.

Skype’s original founders Niklas Zennstrom and Janus Friis are likely to take
a stake in the company again in return for dropping various lawsuits against
eBay.

But Index Ventures and its partner Mike Volpi are likely to withdraw from the
investment group which will take a majority stake in Skype.

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Christmas post chaos ahead as Royal Mail workers vote for national strike

By
Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 4:04 PM on 08th October 2009

Royal Mail workers have backed a series of national strikes in a bitter row over jobs and pay which threatens to cripple the Christmas post service.Unions announced the national walkout today after a ballot of 120,000 workers. The Communication Workers Union (CWU) said 76 per cent of those who took part in the ballot voted for a strike.The move could mean millions of presents and cards are not delivered in the lead-up to the festive period. The CWU said its members backed a nationwide walkout in protest at the ‘imposition’ of changes to working practices as well as cuts in their pay and job losses.But critics have said that a strike when the economy is just emerging from recession is a ‘death wish’ that ‘defies logic.’CWU general secretary Billy Hayes at the TUC conference last month, left,  and Royal Mail chief executive Adam Crozier. 76% of CWU members voted to strike

The union will have to give seven days notice of a strike, raising
the threat of industrial action across the country by the end of the
month, just two years after the last national stoppage.

It comes after online retailer Amazon and eBay said they were searching for
‘contingency measures’ as the bitter row over jobs, pay and services at
the postal service escalates.Auction site eBay have also temporarily suspended the option allowing customers to rate sellers on how quickly their goods arrived due to the possibility of strike delays.Royal Mail condemned the CWU’s plan for a national strike as
‘deplorable and irresponsible’ and said the union’s action would drive
customers away from the business and undermine confidence in the entire
postal services industry.
Royal Mail managing director Mark Higson said: ‘It is clearly
reprehensible for the union to continue to hold strikes when Royal Mail
is not planning any further efficiency changes for the rest of the 2009
calendar year and the priority facing everyone in Royal Mail is to
deliver the best possible service to customers in the run-up to
Christmas.
‘We have held more than seven meetings with the CWU over the last
few months and we call on them now to stop the strikes, get back round
the table and talk.’Robert Hammond, post expert at Consumer Focus, said: ‘It’s hugely
disappointing to watch a great UK institution tear itself apart.
‘We call on Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union to urgently ask for Acas intervention to resolve this dispute.
‘A prolonged strike over Christmas could cripple the service and
will lead to a miserable time for consumers and businesses alike.
‘The bottom line is that there are no winners in this dispute’And Dr Adam Marshall, director of policy at the British Chambers of
Commerce, said: ‘This strike announcement defies logic at a time when
businesses and Government are working hard to move the UK economy back
to growth.
Amazon packages wait to be delivered at the firm’s distribution centre near Milton Keynes. Amazon is to stop using Royal Mail for larger packages

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