ebay

Flammable 'Kindling' e-reader holds 900 bytes

Talk about expensive firewood. Winning a whopping $103.50, a wireless (and featureless) pure wood Kindle recently sold to the highest of 19 bidders on eBay.

Sacramento, Calif.-based Rob Cockerham of Cockeyed.com designed this wooden reading device, which holds one page from "The Count of Monte Cristo." He advertised the Kindling as "thinner than most quesadillas," holding "900 bytes of information (about 120 words)," and having a "complete lack of functional buttons."

After tracing a photo of the Amazon Kindle using a graphics-editing program, Cockerham handed the project over to … Read more

U.K. court rules for eBay in L'Oreal suit

Update at 8:40 a.m. PDT: Reaction from L'Oreal has been added.

eBay has won another lawsuit over the sale of counterfeit goods on its site.

A U.K. court ruled Friday that eBay cannot be held accountable for the sale of fake cosmetics on its auction site, as L'Oreal alleged in its lawsuit filed in March.

The cosmetics giant has long criticized eBay for not doing enough to halt the hawking of phony products that bear the L'Oreal name. But eBay has insisted it merely provides the trading space for its users and has no … Read more

The site where you can buy an iPhone 3G for $7.48

He is selling $25 for 87 cents. He's sold Michael Jackson tickets for next to nothing. And now he's selling an iPhone 3G for $7.48.

Perhaps you might think Nicolas Dickreuter, the creator of PsychoAuction.com, is a few bills short of a fold himself. Some of his friends think so.

Dickreuter used to work for Lehman Brothers and now he doesn't. So he set up the site, a sort of eBay on ganja, on which auctions last only a few minutes and prices are absurdly low.

"I appreciate that some of my friends are … Read more

Xbox/Nike foot protectors fetch $4,000 on eBay marketplace

As a reformed sneakerhead, I understand the mentality behind getting the latest gear, but my mind was officially blown after seeing a pair of custom Xbox Nike Dunks sell for $4,000 on eBay this weekend.

It should be noted that this isn't an official collaboration between the two companies, but rather a special one-off pair made by Sole Junkie, an online company specializing in custom sneakers.

The sneaker is a hi-top version of the popular Nike Dunk basketball shoe, but Sole Junkie snuck fiber optic wiring into the patent leather in the shape of the popular Xbox logo … Read more

Buzz Out Loud 974: Black holes are made of people

Well, actually, people are made of black holes. But I couldn't do a Soylent Green reference if I wrote that. We also talk about Natali's Lady Things and the fact that we all wear makeup. Oh, and Sony is broke. And Jammie Thomas is going back to court. So it's not all good news.

Listen now: Download today's podcast EPISODE 974

Sony Records First Full-Year Loss In 14 Years http://www.paidcontent.org/entry/419-earnings-sony-records-first-full-year-loss-in-14-years/

eBay wins L’Oreal suit http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ebay-wins-french-court-ruling-in-loreal-case

Not-so-shocking: Jammie Thomas, RIAA unable to settle http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/05/not-so-shocking-jammie-thomas-riaa-unable-to-settle.ars… Read more

Judge sides with eBay in L'Oreal fake goods case

Online auction company eBay has emerged a winner in its latest lawsuit over counterfeit goods.

A French court ruled in favor of eBay in a suit filed by L'Oreal, eBay said on Wednesday. The cosmetics giant sought $4.8 million in damages, accusing eBay of allowing counterfeit goods to be traded on its site. The judge, Elisabeth Belfort, said eBay couldn't be held accountable for sales of fake products on its site. The ruling added that through its anticounterfeiting measures, eBay has "fulfilled its obligations of loyalty to other operators on the market."

eBay has said … Read more

E-textbooks vs. Kindle DX: What will college kids pick?

Amazon announced its most recent Kindle device this week: the Kindle DX. Though it's almost identical to the original Kindle, this newer model is marketed for use with textbooks and for reading periodicals. While this seems to give the impression that Amazon has presented a more practical solution for college students, it's likely that the everyday pupil will reject this new device.

Currently, most students purchase their books on campus, where new and used copies are available, while the more frugal of us order online from Web sites like Amazon.com or eBay's Half.com. At the end of the semester, students can sell their books back to the school or to online buyback services where they receive a check for about 15 percent of the original price. For decades, this has been the routine.

More recently, however, the words "e-textbook" and "Netbook" have created a buzz around campus.

E-textbooks have been available for some time now, and are currently purchased for use on a laptop or desktop for about half the price of the print book version. Electronic textbooks are an excellent alternative to print books since with them, a student can search for a specific word or topic, copy/paste text into their coursework, comment within the textbook, and enjoy a lighter backpack. … Read more

Conservation groups say eBay should ban trophy hunt sales

Conservation groups praised eBay for banning the sale of ivory products in December, but on Friday they criticized the online auction site for allowing the sale of trophy hunts of lions, leopards, bears, wolves, and other animals.

Raincoast Conservation and Big Wildlife urged eBay in February to stop posting guided hunts of large predators on the auction site, arguing that trophy hunting of carnivores puts species at risk. Under guided hunts, hunters typically seek thousands of dollars up front to pay for a hunting trip and then get the remainder of the fee after an animal has been killed.

On … Read more

In light of earnings, is eBay operating smarter?

This was originally posted at ZDNet's Between the Lines.

eBay's first-quarter results were better than expected, and the company argued that it is operating with more discipline and smarter.

For the quarter ended March 31 (statement), the company reported net income of $357.1 million, or 28 cents a share, on revenue of $2.02 billion, down $171.6 million from a year ago due to poor performance in its marketplaces unit. On a non-GAAP basis, eBay reported first-quarter earnings of $499.9 million, or 39 cents a share.

Wall Street was expecting earnings of 33 cents a … Read more