I stopped using eBay when they lost their focus on helping people get rid of their stuff through an honest auction and became a money-grubbing front for businesses to set prices via “buy it now” that hardly reflect what the average person is willing to pay.

Indeed, by contrast, Craigslist has doggedly shunned the trappings of success, resolutely refusing to let go of its uniqueness, scale and focus. While it hasn’t changed much, it remains “what it is,” and eBay might still be worthwhile if it could have done the same.

If I might quote “Larry the Liquidator Garfield (Danny DeVito in Other People’s Money”), “this company is dead, all right. It’s just not broke.”