in 2007 ebay began to show signs of slowing down. in early 2008, john donahoe took over as ceo, replacing meg whitman, the mastermind behind the company's success for 10 of its 12 years. donahoe acknowledged that ebay faces issues, including the fact taht it had been resting on its laurels. "we were the biggest and the best. ebay was new, many users were thrilled by the uncertainty of budding against other buyers for a bargain. but as online shopping went mainstream, more people opted for the tried-and-true method of finding the best price on new piece of merchandise and buying it from a reputable retailer