Half.com to continue at full speed
eBay drops its decision to close down the site, under pressure from people using it to sell books and music.
Bowing to resistance from the Half.com community, eBay said Thursday that it has dropped an earlier decision to shutter the online discount store Oct. 14. Now, instead of absorbing the site into its auction lineup, eBay plans to keep Half.com open "indefinitely."
eBay had acquired Half.com, a marketplace for used books, compact discs and DVDs, in 2000, in a bid to compete with Amazon.com.
"We have heard from many of you that you want the Half.com site to remain open. Your input, as well as the data and experience we have gained during the transition efforts, is the basis for our decision to keep Half.com open," eBay said in a notice on its Web site.
Although a number of sellers moved from Half.com to eBay following the decision to consolidate the sites' books, music and media efforts, business at Half.com remains strong, the company said.
eBay said that because the marketplaces for books and media on both eBay and Half.com are doing well, it plans to invest in both platforms and let sellers and buyers make the choice of where to list their merchandise.
San Jose, Calif.-based eBay said that there would be no major changes in Half.com in the near future and that the listing fee structure would remain the same.