eBay Returns to Japan With Yahoo Union

Deal is latest in string of partnerships in Asia
By Jonas Oransky,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 4, 2007 1:27 PM CST
eBay Returns to Japan With Yahoo Union
Visitors stand at the exhibition stand of company Yahoo, in Duesseldorf, western Germany, in this Sept. 25, 2007 file photo. Yahoo Inc. is expected to release quarterly earnings on Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2007. (AP Photo/Rene Tillmann, file)   (Associated Press)

eBay is returning to Tokyo after 5 years away, teaming with Yahoo Japan on a cross-bidding website launching today. The auctioneer couldn’t make inroads in its first Japanese foray, a rare failure; the new Yahoo deal is the latest in a string of partnerships in Asia, including sites under development for China and Thailand, Reuters reports.

Yahoo Japan, one-third owned by Yahoo, controls the majority of the online auction market in the country. Its new Japanese-language service, Sekaimon ("gateway to the world"), will allow users to bid on eBay items. The auctioneer does roughly half of its auction and shopping business overseas; it’s also looking to get into more difficult markets like Vietnam. (More eBay stories.)

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