eBay rolled out its Ad format beyond the real estate category, for which the feature has been available exclusively for years. The Ad format is similar to online classified listings in that there is no binding transaction involved. Sellers can post an ad for $9.95 for a 30-day listing; $19.90 for a 60-day listing; or $29.85 for a 90-day listing. The new categories in which Ad format is now available are Websites and Businesses for Sale; Trade Show Booths; Prefabricated Buildings; Travel; Specialty Services; and Everything Else.

There was an indication eBay would expand the Ad format beyond the Real Estate category back in December, when an eBay category manager asked members for feedback about a live-pet Ad format category. The post resulted in an angry response from animal lovers who objected to live pets being listed for sale on eBay (http://auctionbytes.com/cab/abn/y05/m12/i19/s02).

eBay owns a 25 percent stake in the popular online classifieds website Craigslist, and has acquired classifieds sites Rent.com and Mobile.de. eBay also launched Kijiji, an international classifieds service.

Microsoft and Google are rolling out classifieds services of their own, Windows Live Expo (http://digbig.com/4gkrb) and Google Base (http://base.google.com), respectively. And a former eBay executive started his own online classifieds website. Rajesh Navar was an original member of the engineering and management teams at eBay and founded LiveDeal in 2003 (http://www.livedeal.com).

eBay's Kijiji classifieds site creator Alex Kazim, who also has experience with PayPal operations and the eBay Developer's Program, joined eBay's Skype VoIP service in November. It is possible eBay is considering integrating Skype into its classifieds sites and eBay Ad format listings in the form of click-to-call advertising.

http://www2.ebay.com/aw/core/200602231023572.html