Ebay is the biggest advertiser on Google in terms of revenue. So it's hard to say how this would affect Adsense users. Adwords users might benefit with less competition.
Wow - thanks for linking the article - I must be living in a box this is the first I had heard of this I think someone at Google is probably updating their resume right now - whoever championed the tactic of going head to head with eBay/PayPal compelling their userbase to defect should be looking for a job they can handle - one with a paper hat might be more their level. PayPal has a well fortified position as a pioneer, leader and veteran provider and is deeply, deeply entrenched in the market place. Google is a well-known brand but has no credibility in this vertical and is already percieved as having far too much access to far too much information - coupling that personal inforamation with financial transaction information just becomes unignorably unsettling... Ebay has been the 'bigger man' for most of the posturing stage - they realized that while a bit threatening, competition is also both healthy and necesarry - they reluctantly integrated Google CheckOut as a payment options into their auction listings/system - that was a huge deal Google ignored friendly coexistance and brought a gun to the arm wrestling match - eBay retuned the volley by dropping a nuke. Escalation - oneupmanship is yesterday, these guys are working on a whole new level of 'over-reactions'. While I agree that it's nice to see someone stirring the Google kettle a bit, I worry about stability in the marketplace - changes in big players strategies and relationships make big waves in the pool. EDIT: Curiousity pricked I started looking around for the latests info - looks like google Checkout team is already reworking their strategy in light of the effects - I hope no one gets whiplash from all the backpeddling... http://www.e-consultancy.com/news-blog/363561/ebay-spoils-google-s-checkout-party--literally.html EDIT 2: I also realize I was wrong about Google Checkout in Ebay listings etc - it was banned some time ago - I really do live under a rock...