Amazon vs. Ebay

So it's been a while since my last blog. I know. I just wanted to post a couple of comments about the Amazon vs. Ebay case we discussed in class. Honestly, I was thinking much of the time that the two don't really seem like competitors in my mind. For one thing, personally when I go to Ebay it's because I want to find something that I don't believe I will be able to purchase from a retailer because it is no longer being manufactured or sold. When I go to Amazon, it's because I want digital content like a movie or a book, or I need to order something specific that doesn't require that I go to the store to have a tangible interaction with it. So in a sense, I'm not really seeing how the two are really competing for the same customers. If anything, I think it could be possible for the two to merge. It sounds crazy, but they are somewhat of complimentary services. Suppose you get onto Amazon looking for something in particular and can't find it. Wouldn't it be nice if Amazon had a little note for you similar to their suggestions saying, "Can't find what you're looking for? We found 7 items similar to your search on Ebay." Tada! Or maybe you are on Ebay looking for the perfect Christmas present, but you can't find it new. So Ebay could suggest, "Looking for this item new? There are 3 available on Amazon." Tada! Abracadabra. I think it's possible for the two companies to work together, as opposed to competing. So for the times when their target customer does overlap, it doesn't matter that Ebay gets it or Amazon gets it. If they are working together, one of them gets it and they are less likely to lose that customer to another competitor like WalMart, Craigslist, or some other online retailer. Food for thought.