14 DAY TRIAL // eBay's year-over-year report shows that the company is becoming more and more prosperous. The total revenues for the second semester of 2008 surpassed the ones from 2007 by $361 million, reaching $2.2 billion. The e-commerce activities still account for most of the business share, but some domains that could still be considered of niche, such as PayPal, global classifieds, advertising and Skype, have helped the company become stronger with each year.
"This was a strong quarter and we are very pleased with the performance of the portfolio, particularly with the growth generated by PayPal," said eBay Inc. President and CEO John Donahoe. "We have made bold moves across the eBay marketplace to accelerate long-term growth. We remain confident in our strategies to improve the customer experience as we manage in an uncertain economic climate," he added, underscoring the fact that people would always sell and buy, no matter how poorly the economy was performing.
The financial growth of the company, which repurchased $566 million worth of shares by the end of June 2008, is explained by its officials by the fact that eBay cares for the customers' money and security. "eBay announced initiatives to enhance the safety and vibrancy of the marketplace including: new rewards and discounts for PowerSellers and expanded protections for customers using PayPal," says the quarterly report, proving that these two features couldn't have had better results.
As Skype implemented a redesign of the interface and the chief operating officer in the product strategy and marketing has been replaced, the development of this sector substantially improved. The total number of visitors on all eBay properties averaged 81 million in April, May and June 2008, 121% more than the same period last year.
It seems like eBay has nothing to worry about, considering other things than the financial aspects as well. The proceedings initiated against the company by the jewelry house Tiffany were dismissed by the judges. The magistrates considered that eBay did all it could to prevent the sale of counterfeits on its website.