EBay Amazon Fight Takes A New Turn After Poaching Claims

The battle between arch rivals EBay and Amazon has taken a new turn, with EBay now demanding that Amazon reveal their haul of EBay merchants which they are accused of poaching.

In Countries like Australia Amazon has been accused of running a global multiyear operation to infiltrate EBay and lure merchants away to the e-commerce giant’s marketplace, according to documents reviewed by Bloomberg.

EBay and Amazon are fierce competitors that rely on independent merchants who sell on their sites.

Amazon has more customers, sales and faster growth than EBay, but some sellers prefer the EBay platform since it is a pure marketplace, meaning EBay doesn’t compete with its merchants for sales like Amazon. EBay also lets merchants communicate directly with customers and post email addresses and phone numbers on the site, while Amazon controls the overall shopping experience on its site and discourages merchants from communicating directly with shoppers.

In a letter dated Oct. 1, EBay requested that Amazon provide by Friday the names and addresses of Amazon representatives involved in the alleged multiyear scheme as well as sales from any EBay merchants that moved to Amazon as a result, suggesting an effort to assess damages for a potential lawsuit. The demands signal EBay could seek payment in court if the companies don’t resolve the matter.

EBay has accused Amazon of poaching sellers on its site around the world by infiltrating and using EBay’s member-to-member email system. The San Jose, California-based company said the alleged practice, first reported earlier this week, violates its terms of service as well as California’s Comprehensive Computer Data Access and Fraud Act.

EBay hired the Los Angeles law firm of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, which specializes in international business disputes, to issue the demands of Amazon in a cease-and-desist letter about the alleged seller poaching.

Amazon said it is investigating the issue and declined further comment.

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David Richards

David Richards has been writing about technology for more than 30 years. A former Fleet Street journalist, he wrote the Award Winning Series on the Federated Ships Painters + Dockers Union for the Bulletin that led to a Royal Commission. He is also a Logie Winner for Outstanding Contribution To TV Journalism with a story called The Werribee Affair. In 1997, he built the largest Australian technology media company and prior to that the third largest PR company that became the foundation company for Ogilvy PR. Today he writes about technology and the impact on both business and consumers.