eBay says its sellers and buyers gave a record $36 million to U.S. nonprofit organizations in 2008 via eBay Giving Works.

John Donahoe
eBay CEO

Giving Works allows people to donate to nearly 15,000 organizations in the country while on eBay. Donations were up almost 20 percent in 2008, with nearly 1.5 million people donating to a cause.

eBay said today it is purchasing U.S. based online payments business Bill Me Later for approximately $820 million in cash and $125 million in outstanding options.

The company is also buying Denmark based online classified site dba.dk and vehicles site bilbasen.dk for $390 million in cash.

Skype’s not doing too badly these days.  As it stands, though, Skype has little to do with eBay’s core business, and so it may get sold in the relatively near future.

Live Auctions have been part of eBay for 7 years, but the platform did not survive eBay’s assessment of what it needs to do to continue to build profitability.

"Significant," "sweeping," "fundamental" – these are the words eBay used to describe some coming changes.  And although we often ridicule press releases for blowing things out of proportion, eBay has been more accurate than usual.

Meg Whitman has stepped down, and in our eyes, this makes it a good time for everyone else to step back.  We shouldn’t necessarily stay back; now’s just an opportune moment to consider all things eBay.

Meg Whitman will wrap up ten years with eBay when she steps down as president and CEO on March 31st.