Do you have stock in eBay?

ms70 · October 3, 2003 6:47AM

EBay stock seems to be doing really well. So many of us here use it & I was wondering if there are shareholders onboard.

I don't own any but I'd like to buy some. I figure this would be a good follow up to the CU Stock thread!

paigowjohnny · October 3, 2003 6:52AM

Nope, but I have wayyy too much Cisco, Intel, and Microsoft that powers the machine that allows me to go to ebay and here...

relayer · October 3, 2003 7:43AM

Actually yes, even though I think eBay is run by weasels.

Of all the highflying Internet stocks eBay has been the clear winner. Why? Because they are the middleman taking a cut from every transaction. Their capital outlay for servers and hardware is low and all they need is a small group of technical wizards to keep it running, plus some low wage customer support personnel to fend off complaints about what weasels they are.

Fraud? Not a problem. There is no agency between eBay and sellers (you agreed to that when you joined).

So as long as they can keep a customer base renting storage space on their hard drives, they’ll continue to prosper.

291fifth · October 3, 2003 9:21AM

eBay was a great stock pick in 1998. In 2003, I don't think so. I think the scammer problem is much worse than most people believe and will have an effect on their sales in the near future. You can only hide behind "we are only a venue" for so long. I just got taken by a scammer and I am NOT happy.

Mintstate · October 3, 2003 9:51AM

No...but I am short eBay, for a number of reasons. One of them is the way they artificially inflate their sales with "free listing days"(billing the seller the listing fees to book as sales, and then refunding the fees). Another is the fraud factor, which I think will start taking a bigger toll on sales. I think your already starting to see a fraud "discount" on final sales prices.

fountainheadgold · October 3, 2003 10:59AM

I bought 2000 shares in 98. still own it today after many splits

remumc · October 3, 2003 11:22AM

I bought 1000 shares shortly after it first came out at $43.00/share on advice of a trusted friend. He didn't buy any and we still talk about this to this day. I also still own it after many splits. It has really been the stellar performer in my IRA portfolio.

Regards,

Wayne

dollardude · October 3, 2003 11:30AM

No, absolutely not. Although eBay is an outstanding company, and one of the best in technology, it is WAY overpriced. The price of the stock already assumes overwhelming growth that is just not possible. Even if you assume moderate growth for many years to come, the price is still too high.

BTW, I do NOT recommend buying individual stocks. Only a very small portion of my portfolio is in individual stocks, and I plan on eliminating those soon (yes, even my beloved CLCT stock) and just putting them in good growth stock mutual funds. Unless you are a FULL-TIME portfolio manager or some sort of FULL-TIME investment manager, you have about a 99% chance of NOT doing as well as good growth stock mutual funds. I am part of that 99%. If you are part of the 1% who can invest in individual stocks and beat the full-time professionals, then more power to you. I would even challenge individual stock investors to just beat the simple S&P 500 index!

Instead of trying to worry about thousands of companies and keep up with millions of news stories every year, do some basic mutual fund research using a minimal amount of time, and, chances are, you will make a lot more money! Some of my favorite growth stock mutual funds include Vanguard Growth Index (VIGRX), Fidelity Advisor Equity Growth (FAEGX), and Dreyfus Emerging Leaders (DRELX).

RYK · October 3, 2003 11:38AM

I shorted ebay a while back and had my headed handed to me. I will never, ever make a valuation short again. Ever.

Sure, it is overvalued. It may stay overvalued for a long time. It may get more overvalued. Very dangerous to short a popular, even loved, stock on the basis of valuation.

dollardude · October 3, 2003 11:41AM

Overvaluation is what caused the stock market crash in 1999-2000, which we are STILL trying to recover from!

BTW, this is a non-issue if you just put your money in good growth stock mutual funds. Let the full-time professionals worry about valuation vs. growth anyway!

robertpr · October 3, 2003 11:47AM

Dollardude, did you know that more than 80% of mutual funds underperform the market indices? This is a real number, not just something I pulled out of my @$$ like the 99% you came up with. If you don't have any confidence in your ability to pick stocks, fine, at least you admit that. But you'd be much better off with an index fund like Vanguard or even buy some QQQ or DIA (or hell, even SPY) than you would be with a mutual fund!

BTW, yes, I own EBAY and it's been my best stock over the previous two years, and I plan to own it for a long time even through the daily ups and downs!

dollardude · October 3, 2003 11:52AM

That's why I said GOOD growth stock mutual funds. All of mine except for one (which I quit) have outperformed the S&P 500 index (very small % do this -- even with full-time professionals -- what makes you think YOU can even match this index?). That's why I ALSO like and invest in the Vanguard 500 Index (VFINX). But, this is a growth+income fund, not a growth fund like I was referring to earlier. You should have about 1/4 of your equities investments in the following types of mutual funds: (1) aggressive growth, (2) growth, (3) growth+income, and (4) international. Here are my favorite funds in each of these categories: (1) Dreyfus Emerging Leaders (DRELX), (2) Fidelity Advisor Equity Growth (FAEGX) or Vanguard Growth Index (VIGRX), (3) Vanguard 500 Index (VFINX), and (4) ?? (not sure on this one). I still say I will beat approximately 99% of individual stock investors with a few wise mutual fund choices. Everyone I've asked in my entire life thus far who invests in individual stocks has NOT even matched the S&P 500 index except for ONE person (he's a multi-millionaire).

BTW, I also invest heavily in real estate (rental properties), and this investment has way outperformed the stock market! I have been very fortunate in this area. If you really want to make some money, do real estate!

nolimitz · October 3, 2003 11:53AM

I would have at agree 100%. I think $dude is way off base. My individual stocks have way out done any mutal funds I own in my 401k or my wife's 403b. Both have plenty of options....

LincolnCentMan · October 3, 2003 12:07PM

I'm thinking they'll eventually get busted for being a monopoly. I've been staying away. I dont know the stock market... what I do know, is coins

.

David

Bulldog · October 3, 2003 1:13PM

Nope

ms70 · October 4, 2003 2:31AM

BTT.

drainbamage · October 4, 2003 3:01AM

I doubt that e-bay will ever get nailed for being a monopoly..... Microsoft gets nailed for it because they bundle their programs together to the point where you cannot tell where one stops and the next one begins. So for anyone to compete with them would have to create a complete operating system rather than just an internet browser or a word processor. To do such a thing takes a great deal of money and great risk.

E-bay does not bundle anything. Even though paypal is now owned by E-bay it is a seperate entity. You could think of e-bay as nothing more than a huge building where sellers come and set up shop. That is real hard to classify as a monopoly since nothing is being produced by e-bay itself.

But you put forth an intresting thought there......

MacCoin · October 4, 2003 3:08AM

why is there some up for auction?

dollardude · October 13, 2003 8:54AM

Looks like eBay took quite a tumble! Check out the article at Ebay shares drop; Smith Barney questions growth.

The lesson here is, if you buy individual stocks, you are playing with fire! If you invest in good growth stock mutual funds, you are better diversified, your transaction costs are much lower, you have full-time professional management, and you have a much better chance of high returns.

Do you have stock in eBay?

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