eBay as indicator
The Internet auction site eBay reported that its revenues have grown by 73 percent over the year-ago quarter. I submit that, except for eBay shareholders, this is bad news. It demonstrates that vast amounts of product have been dumped by failed or failing companies, that consumers are shoring up their budgets by selling collectibles (I've noticed the price of baseball cards, which I collect, have fallen steadily over the past year) and that retailers, who can now list excess inventory on eBay, are dumping overstock on the site. All of that points to slack demand for new equipment, lower retail sales and fewer jobs in the coming year.
I was just on the phone with Bill Martin at FindProfit.com, who said he tries not to be so pessimistic as I am, but admitted I have a point about the precipice we are perched on just now.
Posted by Mitch Ratcliffe at October 18, 2002 11:46 AM | TrackBack