My space ebay comming |
We’ve said a few times before that MySpace should get into the business of selling stuff: a MySpace Store that allowed users to buy, sell and trade items would be a big hit. Surveys before Christmas 2006 showed that lots of users would look for recommendations and even purchases on social networks if that service was offered.
We assumed that Amazon would be the likely partner here, but we were wrong: MySpace has actually been talking to eBay for the last few months about allowing users to buy and sell items on each other’s profiles. It’s said that the system would hook into eBay and PayPal. The easiest integration I can imagine is allowing users to post auction widgets, similar to the Snocap stores on MySpace Music, with a link back to the auction on eBay. However, the integration could possibly go deeper.
As a result of the move, MySpace is back talking to Google - Google sees eBay as a rival to Google Checkout, and may prevent MySpace from partnering with its rival.
If the deal did go ahead, we think it would be very successful. MySpace users are young and presumably more likely to trade items than buy them new. What’s more, trading among your MySpace friends adds a layer of trust that isn’t so present on the eBay site. Not to mention that highly active youth demographic that eBay surely craves. Facebook, Friendster and Bebo would also offer good platforms for e-commerce - in fact, Bebo just launched the Amazon-powered Bebo Bookstore, which seems like a first step for them.
(via WSJ)
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Tags: - bookstore, ebay, Online auctions, Online auctions, social networks
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