eBay, the blue book for everything?
eBay is diversifying its business by selling data (lots of it!) on the fair market values of certain items, and thus taking on various publications, most notably the Kelly Blue Book which provides used car prices according to this Wall Street Journal story (subscription required):
Auction listings on eBay last quarter totaled 235 million, more than triple the 68.5 million auctions it listed in the same period three years ago. The company says it doesn't expect its new business to be a big moneymaker anytime soon, though commercial licenses for the data start at about $10,000 a year. Instead, the company is hoping broad use of its auction data will give it a marketing boost.
"It's an incredibly intriguing asset to have eBay better known as the definitive source for prices," says Jeff Jordan, an eBay senior vice president. "It's the best pure market reflection of the meeting of supply and demand."