SFist: EBay Files Suit Against Our Beloved Craigslist

RobInSF

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 21:11:13 -0800

Good for Craig! Hope he kicks Ebays ass!

alexei

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:58:26 -0800

I suspected something like this would happen ever since I heard ebay had bought a chunk of craigslist.

Generic

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:58:23 -0800

Surely you jest, mattymatt.

bluecanary

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:19:35 -0800

I got my job on craigslist, for which I will forevermore be willing to bend down and kiss craig's ass. and is there any other way to find an apartment?

KatyG

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:35:28 -0800

fwiw, I use CL for calls for artists and ticket sales. How else would I get to see Goldfrapp?

judd870

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:29:11 -0800

"Remeber, these "tradesmen" are our servants, not our idols." Servants? That's clearly not the case unless you're a shareholder - I'm not, so neither craig nor the ebay guys owe me anything. Whether someone idolizes them or not depends on whether or not they're into business and finance and perhaps find these individuals to be something other than "boring ugly white men". I'm not quite sure I see your point.

mattymatt

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:26:58 -0800

Does anyone really still use either of these sites? I thought they were museum pieces from when people used the term "information superhighway" unironically.

manys

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:14:25 -0800

BTW what is Craigs Salary? It is rumored to be anywhere from 5 to 20 Million a year. Whatever it is it is TOP Secret. Like most-if-not-all private companies. Ever look for information about Trader Joe's internal numbers? Rainbow they ain't.

fizzandpop

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:31:33 -0800

Let me see, boring ugly white men sue boring ugly white man and his firend over boring shareholder nobjockying. Remeber, these "tradesmen" are our servants, not our idols. (Where the fuck did that come from?)

daithi

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:21:42 -0800

Craig rocks.

TeamAwesome

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:15:25 -0800

YES! Comment war!

jimH

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:11:37 -0800

Well sure, majority rules, but there are such things as minority rights.

KatyG

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:08:21 -0800

Thanks for the crash course in US economics, folks. Very interesting...

mushmouth

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 15:02:51 -0800

Craig got $10 Million Jim got $6 Million the guy that they pushed out (who owned a 25% stake for helping found and fund the company) got $16 Million. eBay had 28% after the deal. BTW what is Craigs Salary? It is rumored to be anywhere from 5 to 20 Million a year. Whatever it is it is TOP Secret. CL generates 80 Million a year in revenue, it employs 25 people, and it operating expenses are less than $5 million. You do the math.

cowsaysmeow

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:56:56 -0800

I can't speak to this specific issue, but as someone who used to do the CL thing frequently I do know that it wasn't Craig and Jim that sold the shares, but someone who held a partial interest in CL sold it to eBay on their own. Or something like that...

manys

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:46:58 -0800

mushmouth: are those your own clueless words or are you copying them from someone else? jimH: Majority rules?

mushmouth

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:32:08 -0800

eBay Sucks? eBay is owned by hundreds of thousand shareholders, Craig has enriched himself on the backs of these shareholders. If he wanted to keep control of his "non-profit" that nets him millions, he could have not cashed out and sold a stake to eBay.

Shibi

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 14:15:47 -0800

Just one more reason to think: eBay sucks.

jimH

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 13:48:42 -0800

Delaware is a corporate haven http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delaware_corporation The prior owner of this chunk of craigslist (apparently) was very concerned about this very same dilution issue. Craig and Jim could get together and act to the detriment of the other shareholder - that was the concern.

andyc

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 13:46:13 -0800

katyG, many corporations are registered in delaware due to a combination of corporate-friendly laws in that state, lack of state taxes for corporations, and also a large body of precedent from years of litigation there. a lawyer friend of mine explained that it makes it easier for a company to know what they can and can't do because they have already tested out the limits of many of those laws in that state.. look up delaware corporation on wikipedia for more details

Brock Keeling

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 13:40:56 -0800

according to NYT, "the company filed the suit with the Delaware Court of Chancery, a forum for resolving internal disputes among companies registered in Delaware."

KatyG

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 13:38:22 -0800

Can someone please tell me why these two California companies are in a Delaware court?