It was over almost before it began, but it’s still interesting to talk about: the fight between Google and eBay. It seems as if Google has lost its first battle.
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If you don’t know the background, here it is in a nutshell: eBay has refused to add Google’s payment system as a way to pay for items that you win on eBay. eBay owns PayPal, and doesn’t want any direct competition for this service, which is either loved or hated, depending on who you ask. In the past, it was eBay’s policy that they will allow other payment methods if they are safe enough to use, so by not allowing Google Checkout it is a direct slap in the face.
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eBay is having a huge conference with buyers and sellers in Boston, and Google was planning on crashing the party by planning a huge party to show that Google Checkout was available and safe to use. They decided not to crash the party, hoping that by being civil, eBay would change their minds.
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At the same time, Google yanked all of eBay’s “find it on eBay†ads for a while, but then had a change of heart (when it realized that eBay spends $25 million per quarter on advertising on Google alone and could find someone else to take their business.Â
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The result of this fight, eBay won… They aren’t accepting the payment plan and they have their ads back on Google. What’s interesting is that this is the first time that Google has publicly lost such a big battle. Is it the beginning of the end for Google, or is it just the inevitable happening?
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