If your procrastinating ways leave you a few gifts short this season, guess who is trying to make a bid for you holiday business? A look at eBay's (NASDAQ:EBAY) site these days shows a company that looks more like a traditional online retailer than a popular auction site.
Last-minute gifts. Express shipping listings. Emphasis on the site's "Buy It Now" feature to promote immediate closure and gratification. Even, egads, site-specific gift certificates!
Going by the numbers, it makes perfect sense. The company is already the country's 11th-largest retailer. Though eBay has become a popular year-round destination for folks looking to soak in the mother of all garage sales, it's fitting for it to try to ape Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) or Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) now that the holiday shopping season has arrived.
After its great move to acquire PayPal, the company has more at stake in growing the number of successful online transactions. And just as Web-savvy shoppers have come to value cheap shipping and great prices, eBay was right to respond.
The auctioneer has ambitious goals. It is looking to produce $1 billion in operating cash flow on more than $3 billion in revenue come 2005. So, if you find yourself wondering why the site is suddenly warming up to Secret Santa exchanges and hosting special interest forums, it's all in the interest of keeping its community close and chummy.
It's that kind of common-sense storyboarding magic that made the company one of the earliest Motley Fool Stock Advisor selections. If eBay keeps this up, despite its lofty valuation, it may very well wind up bidding on something else: your attention.
So have you noticed any changes in eBay over the years? Has your experience with the leading online auction site improved over the years or not? What is a fair price for the stock? All this and more -- in the eBay discussion board. Only on Fool.com.
