GM to sell new cars on eBay

Dick Taffe — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 16:34:24 +0000

In a grand experiment, revived General Motors will let most of its California auto dealers haggle online with customers by selling new vehicles over eBay. School of Management Dean Louis Lataif, a former Ford executive, says the move is inevitable, but could have some glitches — like when a car owner is both the buyer and seller (trying to unload their used car), and the fact most buyers want a test drive.

Contact Louis Lataif, 617-353-2668, lelataif@bu.edu

eBay, dumping Skype, faces hard choices

Dick Taffe — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 15:07:15 +0000

With eBay planning to shed itself of Skype with an IPO, School of Management Professor N. Venkat Venkatraman, chairman of the Information Systems Department, says it’s clear that the Skype acquisition has not paid off for eBay which now has some hard decisions to make.

“Now eBay is faced with tough choices: (1) a spin-out in this market with brutally low valuations; (2) a management buy-out by the original founders in an uncertain time for private equity-based ventures; or (3) find a strategic buyer for it.

“The hottest trend now is the mobile applications marketplace and eBay may find it attractive to find a buyer who is interested in making Skype a central piece in the coming convergence in telecoms.”

Contact N. Venkat Venkatraman, 617-353-7117, venkat@bu.edu

BU Now » eBay

GM to sell new cars on eBay

eBay, dumping Skype, faces hard choices