News: Google puts eBay Competition Rumors to Rest
October 26th, 2005 by Laurie BarakSource: Yahoo News UK
Google on Tuesday strongly denied speculation that it is testing an onlineclassifieds service by the name of Google Base.
The speculations were spurred after screen shots of the alleged service started appearing online on Tuesday. Google then quickly removed the webpages from the URL at which theywere found. The page shows an option to post data to a category such as vehicles. The page further suggests that the service could be out to classified advertisement with the phrase: “Are you a merchant or a webmaster, or do you have lost of stuff?”
The page however also offers plenty of hints that the service is about something other than Google setting up an eBay competitor. The service is described as a “database in which you can add all types of content. We’ll host your content and make it searchable online for free.”
Numerous blogs and even the NewYork Times, however, quickly jumped to the conclusion the service marks an attempt by Google to expand into ecommerce. Later on the day Google however put an abrupt end to the speculcation. “We are testing a new way for content owners to submit their content to Google, which we hope will complement existing methods,” explained Google product marketing manager Tom Oliveri on Google’s official blog.
