As eBay's stock slides and the company tries to make the $2.6 billion purchase of Skype make sense, let alone money, several remora-like companies are popping up. TechCrunch has a story about Rapleaf, a company seeking to expand upon and improve eBay's customer feedback system. Rapleaf wants to move the closed-network of eBay feedback out into the open, and allow users to rate businesses in the real world.
Anyone who's seen the movie "The 40 Year Old Virgin," is already familiar with another eBay-centric business. As I was walking home one day a few months ago I saw a new store on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn called iSoldIt. Intrigued, I walked up to the door and saw a help wanted sign. They were looking for experienced eBay sellers. It turns out iSoldIt is franchised all over the country. Today on e-Commerce Guide there is a how-to story about becoming an eBay trading assistant.
These spin-off businesses are based upon truly inventive ideas, eBay's ideas. They seek to make the eBay experience more accessible and flexible. In the grand scheme of things, I guess the Skype purchase was meant to accomplish these same goals, I just can't help wondering if the money would've been better spent developing ideas like these internally, instead of allowing "suckerfish" to clean up its leftovers. — Brian Ward
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