Ebay Pursues Web Classified Marketshare With Kijiji

Posted on July 15, 2007

eBay recently launched an online classifieds service called Kijiji. Kijiji is billed as a local free web classified service. CNET's News.com reports that eBay has one advantage over the popular Craigslist web classified service in that they have an inside view into Craigslist because they own 25% of the company.

The auctioneer is up against an Internet icon in the privately held Craigslist. The 21-employee company operates on a shoestring budget, is well-entrenched in every major U.S. city and founder Craig Newmark is beloved by users for his reluctance to commercialize the site.

But eBay enjoys an unusual advantage. For three years, executives at eBay have been allowed to peer deep into Craigslist's operations. Since 2004, the year eBay bought a 25 percent stake in the San Francisco-based Craigslist from a former employee, the auction site has held a seat on the company's board of directors.

It must be pretty awkward for Craigslist with eBay having such a large stake in the company and now also having Kijiji.

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