Since the dawn of Internet shopping, bargain hunters have reveled in the thrill of the hunt for deals at eBay (EBAY, news, msgs), the online equivalent of an auction house.
But the thrill is going, going, almost gone. And eBay's losses are Amazon.com's (AMZN, news,msgs) gains in this battle to sell the most stuff on the Internet -- a battle that is about to take a turn for the worse for eBay.
Busy shoppers are already skipping eBay's time-consuming auctions, which they might lose at the last second when a computerized shopping bot slips in a bid. Instead, they're opting for "everyday low prices" via the Internet and, in particular, at Amazon.
Amazon, once just an online bookstore, is easy to use, and it offers a range of products along with good prices and cheap shipping. You're more likely to find rare and obscure items via Amazon these days than ever before, as the retailer has opened its site to more than a million outside merchants. Those often small merchants might otherwise be setting up virtual eBay stores.
Now Amazon is taking aim at eBay's remaining jewel: its PayPal payment system. With Amazon already stealing potential sellers as well as buyers, trouble with PayPal would be another huge hit to eBay. And for investors, that makes Amazon the retailer to buy now.
If you have any doubt that Amazon is beating up eBay in the battle of the Internet retailing behemoths, let me update you on the status of the fight.
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