EBAY INC. $47 (Nasdaq symbol EBAY; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Finance sector; Shares outstanding: 1.3 billion; Market cap: $61.1 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 4.5; No dividends paid; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.ebay.com) is testing a new service called eBay Now, which provides same-day delivery of goods purchased from major retailers such as Macy’s, Best Buy and Toys R Us.
eBay Now lets users order goods using their smartphones for a small fee. A courier company then picks up the merchandise from a store and delivers it to the customer. eBay’s PayPal service processes all payments.
This new service should help eBay compete with Amazon.com, which offers two-day shipping for an extra fee. Moreover, using existing stores instead of building its own warehouses— as Amazon does— will help eBay keep its delivery costs down.
eBay is a buy.