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eBay Myth Conceptions About Alibaba and the Forty Thieves

eBay Myth Conceptions About Alibaba and the Forty Thieves
29 August 2010
EventHorizon1984

When eCommerce company Alibaba.com purchased Vendio Services (June 2010) and eBay third party provider Auctiva (August 2010), there was the usual buzz.  But it was less about Alibaba's CEO David Wei stating "The U.S. is the top priority in our investment list" and more about the "Alibaba and the Forty Thieves" meme.

This is a very pervasive meme.  For example:

• AuctionBytes - "Let's give them all to Alibaba and the forty million thieves and let them sell on Alibaba's new site."
• TameBay - "Alibaba and the Forty Thieves ?"
• eBay Forum - "Would that be the story of AliBaba and the Forty THIEVES ?.."

Users of the "Alibaba and the Forty Thieves" meme have the popular conception that it's Alibaba AND HIS Forty Thieves.  As it turns out it's a misconception*.

* Since we're dealing with myths, the popular phrase "Myth Conceptions" is a steal homage to the copyrighted work of the late Robert Asprin.  A book published in 1980 titled, "Myth Conceptions."

The meme of "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" might be from the 1944 movie of the same name.  Which is described as "A boy prince, raised by forty thieves."  It might be the cartoon Arabian Knights (1968-1969).

Or simply it's a straight name association used by people who know the name of the story, but have never read the original work.

Speaking of which "The Story of 'Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" from "Stories from the Thousand and One Nights" (1909) is available at Bartleby.com.

We know in this tale:

• "'Ali Baba married a woman as poor as himself, and lived by cutting wood"
• "‘Ali Baba expected a dark, dismal cavern, but was surprised to see a well-lighted and spacious chamber, lighted from an opening at the top of the rock, and filled with all sorts of provisions, rich bales of silk, embroideries, and valuable tissues, piled upon one another, gold and silver ingots in great heaps, and money in bags. The sight of all these riches made him suppose that this cave must have been occupied for ages by robbers, who had succeeded one another."
• "‘Ali Baba went boldly into the cave, and collected as much of the gold coin"

We meet Marjaneh:

• "Marjaneh, a clever slave-girl, who was fruitful in inventions to meet the most difficult circumstances"
• said 'Ali Baba to Marjaneh, "I leave the matter to your wit and skilful devices."

Who gives The Bride a run for the body count.

The tale ends with:

• "Some years later he carried his son to the cave and taught him the secret, which he handed down to his posterity, who, using their good fortune with moderation, lived in great honour and splendour till they were visited by the terminator of delights and the separator of companions."

The story is not 'Ali Baba and his forty thieves, but 'Ali Baba and the encounter with forty thieves.

However from a 21st century legal perspective, 'Ali Baba taking property from thieves is theft.  Paradoxically such an act is considered justice.  More so considering the "Forty Thieves" were dealt with by 'Ali Baba's proxy (Marjaneh) in a way appropriate to the legal code of the time.

Still the 'Ali Baba meme is rather powerful.  Although as the title of the article Alibaba and the eBay Thieves demonstrates, it may not mean what you think it means.

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"Sometimes bad guys are the only good guys you get."
Parker, Leverage

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PayPal and the International Credit Card Wars

PayPal and the International Credit Card Wars
18 August 2010
EventHorizon1984

Considering the events that have happened during PayPal's 2010 international expansion, PayPal appears to be living in interesting times.

PayPal International's interesting times began on January 27th.  The date that the Reserve Bank of India asked PayPal "to immediately suspend PayPal payments to and from India as well as transfers to local banks in India."

• "I’m personally committed to working closely and tirelessly with the Reserve Bank of India to get a fast resolution to this issue" Farhad Irani, 14 February 2010

PayPal's India problems marched through February and March.

Then came a PayPal Japan revelation:

• "PayPal recently announced that as of March 31 customers in Japan are no longer able to make personal payments to individuals using the company's 'send money' service and that the facility would remain suspended until further notice."

Unfortunately PayPal's India problems have not gone away.

• 28 July 2010:  "This morning, an email was sent to Indian users, notifying them that they would (very) soon be removing the ability to withdraw funds from accounts electronically."
• 31 July 2010:  "We’ve received good news. You can continue to enjoy electronic withdrawals just as you did before."

And despite Farhad Irani's declaration, PayPal remains unlicensed in India.

• Certificates of Authorisation issued by the Reserve Bank of India under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 12 July 2010

But guess what notable United States companies are licensed in India?

Answer:

• American Express (licensed 2009)
• Diner's Club  (licensed 2010)
• MasterCard (licensed 2009)
• Visa  (licensed 2009)

• MoneyGram (licensed 2009)
• Western Union (licensed 2009)

When PayPal's intentions come across as "PayPal wants to replace credit cards in stores", how will the larger companies react?

Or more to the point, how are the larger companies reacting?

Consider these numbers.

• In 2009 according to "eBay Inc. President and CEO John Donahoe. “PayPal significantly expanded its presence globally and, for the first time, processed more than $20 billion in total payment volume in a quarter.""
• Discover (established 1985), which owns Diner's Club (established 1950), reported sales volume of $23 billion in the second quarter of 2010.
• American Express (established 1850) reported a 2009 fourth quarter volume of $115 billion.
• Number two MasterCard (established 1966) reported a 2009 fourth quarter purchase volume of $510 billion.
• While number one Visa (established 1958) posts "$4.8 trillion total volume" for a twelve month period.  A rough average of $1,200 billion a quarter versus PayPal's $20 billion quarter.

If you were, say Visa, nothing to worry about right?

Yet Visa's international activities indicate they take PayPal's growing international presence seriously.  Or 'coincidentally' Visa, as well as MasterCard, etal, are aggressively expanding their international businesses in the same year as PayPal.

• February 11 2010
• Visa and Travelex Launch Visa Money Transfer for Remittances from Australia
• "Visa Inc. (NYSE: V), the world's largest retail payments network, and Travelex, the world's largest international foreign exchange and international payments specialist, today announced the launch of the first Visa Money Transfer service in Australia."

• May 11 2010
• MoneyGram and Visa Introduce Cash-to-Visa Card Money Transfer Program
• "launch of MoneyGram's first cash-to-Visa card program enabling consumers to transfer money from MoneyGram locations in the United States directly to the Visa accounts of recipients outside of the United States"

• May 25 2010
• Visa and Bancomer Transfer Services Launch Visa Money Transfer for remittances from the U.S.
• "launch of a money transfer service that will provide an additional alternative for consumers that send money from the United States to friends and family living abroad. "
• "initial deployment of the service will enable consumers to send funds from the United States to select countries such as El Salvador, Brazil, China and The Philippines, with plans to extend the program to allow remittances from BTS locations to any country within the Visa network."

Visa did not ignore India.

• May 26 2010
• Visa and Monitise to Launch Joint Venture in India
• "formation of a joint venture that will provide a technology platform for financial institutions and mobile network operators in India to offer a range of mobile financial services to consumers."

PayPal remained on the move, entering the South Africa market in March.

Not that Visa was far behind.  As they churned this out in a July press release:

• "As a first time sponsor of the FIFA World Cup, we're very happy with what this has done for our business. It has driven business growth - increasing transactions, building our brand and providing business development opportunities for our partners"

Definitely interesting things happening in 2010.

eBay's (PayPal is owned by eBay) CEO John Donahoe said in 2009, "PayPal is a business that will be bigger than eBay."  Along with the comment, "Donahoe said we are not that far off from the day where a restaurant beams a bill to your mobile device and you pay via PayPal."

A skirmish is defined as "a minor fight in war usually incidental to larger movements."  Did John Donahoe's 2009 PayPal chest thumping get the attention of the major credit card companies?  Touching off the 2010 prelude to international payment system skirmishes?

We'll see.

As the owner of PayPal, eBay INC is not immune from the major credit card companies.  Remember MasterCard's $510 billion purchase volume?  eBay's equivalent statistic, Gross Merchandise Volume (GMV), for the same period was $12.5 billion.

'Coincidentally' MasterCard started their MasterCard MarketPlace in March 2010.  The "MasterCard MarketPlace" is initially being trademarked for the United States, European Union, China, Australia, and Canada.

MasterCard's MarketPlace commercial has a certain 'as compared to eBay' feel to it.  Since eBay INC calls it's eBay.com site, the "eBay Marketplace," MasterCard must be making a point.

A very sharp one.

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Addendum
19 August 2010

The day after we published the above article, reuters reported:

• UPDATE 4-MasterCard to buy DataCash for $520 million
• "The deal will improve MasterCard's ability to process payments online, especially in Europe and emerging markets, the company said. Its new chief executive, Ajay Banga, is trying to boost the company's profits by developing its online and mobile payments processing business."
• "MasterCard and Visa are trying to compete with PayPal, which is synonymous with online shopping in the minds of many consumers."
• "MasterCard, which gets 55 percent of its revenue from outside the United States, is looking abroad to grow."

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See Also:

• American Express Tells PayPal, Revolution Money Don't Leave Home Without It
• The PayPal India Transaction Holdup
• The PayPal India Transaction Holdup Continues
• The PayPal India Suspended Transaction Services and Farhad Irani
• PayPal India Service Hold Explained: 'We Don't Need No Stinking License'
• PayPal India Farhad Irani Restores Business Bank Withdrawls But Hold On Personal Funds Remain
• PayPal India Personal Accounts Hold and the April 30th RBI Deadline

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"Donahoe said, noting that only 5 percent of sales are online as compared to stores."
PayPal will be bigger than eBay.com, CEO says, 23 July 2009

"I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with terrible resolve."
Isoroku Yamamoto, Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)

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eBay and Johnny Sain

eBay and Johnny Sain
12 August 2010
EventHorizon1984

Decided to pick up some words to relax before a weekend (group  Ed.) three day systems contract, and AuctionBytes won the coin toss over TameBay.  The site didn't disappoint.

The day's guest lecturer was one eBay Addict, a self professed eBay shopper.  He has skill of a professional writer, with the hardball delivery of a stereotypical east coast resident. 

eBay Addict is reminiscent of the fictional sports writer Oscar Madison. But I'm getting ahead of myself here.  Let's rewind a bit.

Despite eBay Addict saying, "I'm not trying to bait you," he managed to hook quite a few live ones. 

The lively taunt and rant session piqued my curiosity.  Curiosity and Google went no where, but the {cough} {cough} baseball addict seated nearby had this to say:

"[expletive deleted] Braves."

I went 'huh?', but apparently there are baseball fans that recognize where eBay Addict appropriated the "We really don't want to hear about the labor pains, we just wanna see the baby." catch phrase. 

Johnny Sain (1917-2006)
Boston Braves 1946-1951
"The world doesn't want to hear about labor pains; it just wants to see the baby."

Ah sports writer.

His comments are sprinkled with sporting allusions.  Reading like other sports articles, such as one from east coaster Mike Bovenzi, who like dozens of others wrote a similar "fans don't want to hear about labor pains. The fans just want to see the baby."  Sadly he too didn't attribute Johnny Sain.

Who is eBay Addict and is he a sport writer? 

"We don't care..."
eBay Addict

Hope you enjoyed today's sports trivia.

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"You and other sellers like you just don't get it. Buyers (and eBay) are sick of the excuses and the rants. We really don't want to hear about the labor pains, we just wanna see the baby. And in this instance, your baby can't be delivered on time! ROFTL!!"
eBay Addict

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Calvin Klein Slow Death on eBay or Best Match?

Calvin Klein Slow Death on eBay or Best Match?
10 August 2010
EventHorizon1984

With minor fanfare Calvin Klein opened an eBay store last week.  It's incredible that eBay (EBAY, share price $21.91) kept this news low key given the Calvin Klein brand.  Then again given the pedigree of the Calvin Klein (1978) brand versus eBay's (1995), it might not have been eBay's decision to make.

Calvin Klein is owned by the Phillips-Van Heusen Corporation (PVH, share price $53.27). 

As noted by the multi-brand Phillips-Van Heusen, "We closed 2009 approaching $6 billion in global retail sales under the Calvin Klein brands."  Compared to the eBay 'oranges' of $4.46 billion in Marketplaces Net Transaction Revenue; i.e. fees not sales.

And of course Calvin Klein has it's own web store.

One might expect a well known global brand, to do well almost anywhere.

Well...

Calvin Klein may have opened an eBay Store last week, but their eBay selling ID was created on 30 September 2009.

Seller ID calvinklein has a positive feedback rating of 15.  With DSR (Detailed Seller Rating) of 5.0 Item as described, 5.0 Communication, 4.9 Shipping Time, and a sub-par 4.7 Shipping and handling charges.

There are 10,207 listings for calvinklein.

And 26,826 closed listings.

According to figures from eBay supported TeraPeak, from July 9 to August 7, calvinklein had 47 successful listings for total sales of $1,614.  And a sell through rate of 0.8%.

Given the lack of exposure on eBay's Fashion Vault page that Calvin Klein gets,

and the lack of press hype, perhaps the lack of sales should be expected.

Which leads to the question, if eBay is willing to show such tepid support for a $6 billion dollars in sales a year corporation, how do you think eBay treats the much smaller sellers?

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"Well, that is your name, isn't it? Calvin Klein? It's written all over your underwear."
Lorraine Baines, Back to the Future, 3 July 1985

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