Here today, gone tomorrow

What short memories people have. Just a couple of weeks ago eBay users and the media alike were either praising or (mainly) blaming Meg Whitman for her management of the eBay site. Now just a few days after she announced she’s stepping down Seeking Alpha carry the headline “How Donahoe Broke eBay“.

I guess it’s a refreshing change from blaming everything on Meg, but has she been forgotton so quickly? Surely she oversaw all of the changes recently announced? Or was it really all JD’s idea which he kept under wraps to announce the minute Meg stepped aside?

7 Responses on "Here today, gone tomorrow"

1. 1
   Josordoni says:

   February 7, 2008 at 10:14 am

   Yes, but since Donahoe has been running the Marketplace sector since 2005, wouldn’t you expect most of the latest round of changes to be his conception?

   this article outlining the changes, putting them firmly in Donahoe’s court, was published in December of last year.

   http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/38c48eb4-ad0c-11dc-b51b-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1
2. 2
   Josordoni says:

   February 7, 2008 at 10:16 am

   Oh, sorry, I didn;t realise you needed to register to see it – I am already registered so it took me straight in….

   this one should be ok, same interview different article:

   http://www.alleyinsider.com/2007/12/interview-with-ebays-john-donahoe-possible-next-ceo.html
3. 3
   Chris Dawson says:

   February 7, 2008 at 10:40 am

   I wouldn’t say JD didn’t have more than a little input, but until now almost every article printed has laid the blame / praise towards Meg. After all she was ultimately in charge (and in fact still is for another few days – JD is still CEO in waiting )
4. 4
   Jon Feest says:

   February 7, 2008 at 11:57 am

   which ever one of the two was responsible for not engineering a launch of an almost seperate “ebay shops” brand about 2-3 years ago is responsible for loosing ebay hundreds of millions. The express fiasco and the contined blurring of auction style selling and ebay shops style selling was a catastrophic error in my humble opinion. wasted time that allowed amazon to zoom ahead in terms of brand security in that arena. It was down to simply not enough business expertise at the top. By now “ebay shops” should be on most peoples online list of places to buy , insstead its still tied into the “dogdy auction site” as many see it…… still Meg still gets her share options by the $$$$$$$$$ so what does she care I suppose is the end story..
5. 5
   Whirly says:

   February 7, 2008 at 5:50 pm

   She may be back, Romney is quiting
6. 6
   Mark Classic says:

   February 7, 2008 at 8:45 pm

   The thing that concerns me in this is the claim of Ebay switching the lights out for certain areas on a whim…

   Is this true?

   If it is, it does not encourage trust.

   Mark
7. 7
   Jon Feest says:

   February 8, 2008 at 10:13 am

   Mark.
   ANYONE that “trusts” ebay is either on experimental medication
   or is one of those people who would buy a new roof for £15000 after a guy comes down a ladder with one tile in his hand wearing a nervous grin.
   Ebay has been the launch pad for thousands of successful businesses , but it has also been responsible for the ruin of many by way of encouraging people to build a brand etc etc only for the rug to be pulled out from under them. Respect for such a company , yes , in a way , but trust !? not a word I would associate with ebay.
   A “revenue-without-care-of-consequence” business model will always bring success of sorts , but its not everyone’s cup of tea. I think for many the wake up call was ad-links in search results , quite astonishing. Ebay remains for me an enigma , I love it and hate it in equal measures. The view of many. today I love ebay !