News

eBay Debuts Instant Buying Service

By Ed Oswald | Published April 25, 2006, 1:40 PM

eBay launched its instant buying service to supplement its normal auction listings Monday, hoping to lure more traditional e-commerce users to its service. First announced in January, eBay Express allows users to purchase from multiple sellers using a single shopping cart.

The site is completely separate from eBay's main auctions, and has the appearance of a more traditional e-commerce store. Nearly 10 million listings are included, culled from the auction site's "Buy it Now" listings. A U.S. version is currently in "preview mode," allowing sellers and buyers to test out the service.

eBay Express is fully functional, however, meaning buyers will be able to shop and buy through the site. The company plans an announcement to the entire eBay community in early May, followed by a major advertising campaign in August.

"eBay Express was developed specifically for those online buyers looking for a convenient shopping experience," eBay Express Senior Director Jamie Iannone said in a note to eBay sellers. While initially available in the U.S., the auction site plans to launch a German version next quarter.

In order to offer products on eBay Express, a seller must accept PayPal as a form of payment. Additionally, the seller must have a feedback rating of 100 or more, of which 98 percent are positive. If the seller meets these requirements, their "Buy it Now" listings are automatically placed on the eBay Express site.

"With eBay Express, you get access to a whole new market, with virtually no extra effort on your part," the company said in a statement.

View comments by with a score of at least

Microsoft's Ray Ozzie: 'Nobody's going to be 100% open'

The mobile apps ecosystems of the world may converge over time, led by apps being ported over across platforms, according to the Chief Software Architect.

Will Firefox beat IE9 to Direct2D rendering?

Just days after Microsoft executives gave conference attendees a peek at a new rendering technology, a Mozilla contributor revealed he's working on the same thing.

Where there's smoke: Apple warranty stance raises troubling questions

Carmi Levy | Wide Angle Zoom: Smoking can be dangerous not only for your lungs, it appears, but for your Apple hardware warranty.

AOL's decision to rebrand as Aol. takes a bad brand and makes it worse

The idea behind the social Web is to crowd source before bringing out something new. But not at AOL, which new logo debuted with a cry of "fail!" across the blogosphere and Twittersphere today.

Microsoft 'worked with Apple' for Silverlight on iPhone, says Goldfarb

By not making such a big deal out of trying to stream video to the iPhone, Microsoft got a big deal out of it, revealed the Silverlight product manager.

Clicker.com cuts through the Web video chaos

In a world where homemade video and Hollywood movies travel the same pipeline, it's good to have a real search engine to cut through the clutter.

A case study in improving software: What Office 2010 can learn from Notion 3

A music composition product gambles with a complete overhaul, in an effort to make headway against two well-known competitors in a tough market.

Kindle 2 update adds battery life, native PDF reader

Amazon has pushed out an update to the Kindle 2 e-reader that lengthens battery life and adds a native PDF viewer.

Safari on iPhone gets competition from a $1 browser app

Apple likes to say it gives iPhone users a full browsing experience, but a new competitor tries to incorporate more desktop browser features.

Action Replay maker sues Microsoft for Xbox 360 'predatory technological barriers'

Third-party video game accessory maker Datel has filed an antitrust lawsuit against Microsoft over the Xbox 360's recent Dashboard update.

Microsoft's Bob Muglia and Ray Ozzie on Silverlight vs. standards

Bob Muglia: "We're trying to provide people with an environment that has capabilities that you just simply can't do today in the standards-based world."