We aren't dictating who's successful and not successful on eBay. All we're doing is ensuring that the seller who provide the things that buyers want get exposure and positive reinforcement."
Things have improved somewhat since Donahoe's statements. But while its 2009 revenue increase of 2.2 percent was better than a decline, it paled in comparison to the 28 percent increase achieved by Amazon. And although eBay's profits shot up 34 per cent, much of that was from the sale of Skype and came in lower than analysts had expected. None of this goes against the promises made by Donahoe. The question is, will investors have enough patience to wait for his plan to work?