eBay 1999 Annual Report Download - page 32

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We may be unable to accomplish one or more of these goals, which could cause our business to suffer. In
addition, accomplishing one or more of these goals might be very expensive, which could harm our financial
results.
Our operating results may fluctuate
Our operating results have varied on a quarterly basis during our short operating history. Our operating
results may fluctuate significantly as a result of a variety of factors, many of which are outside our control.
Factors that may affect our quarterly operating results include the following:
●our ability to retain an active user base, to attract new users who list items for sale and who purchase
items through our service and to maintain customer satisfaction;
●our ability to keep our website operational and to manage the number of items listed on our service;
●the amount and timing of operating costs and capital expenditures relating to the maintenance and
expansion of our business, operations and infrastructure;
●federal, state or local government regulation, including investigations prompted by items improperly
listed or sold by our users;
●the introduction of new sites, services and products by us or our competitors;
●volume, size, timing and completion rate of trades on our website;
●consumer confidence in the security of transactions on our website;
●our ability to upgrade and develop our systems and infrastructure to accommodate growth;
●technical difficulties or service interruptions;
●our ability to attract new personnel in a timely and effective manner;
●our ability to retain key employees in both our online businesses and our new acquisitions;
●the ability of our land-based auction businesses to acquire high quality properties for auction;
●the timing, cost and availability of advertising in traditional media and on other websites and online
services;
●the timing of marketing expenses under existing contracts;
●consumer trends and popularity of some categories of collectible items;
●the success of our brand building and marketing campaigns;
●the level of use of the Internet and online services;
●increasing consumer acceptance of the Internet and other online services for commerce and, in
particular, the trading of products such as those listed on our website; and
●general economic conditions and economic conditions specific to the Internet and electronic commerce
industries.
Our limited operating history and the emerging nature of the markets in which we compete make it difficult
for us to forecast our revenues or earnings accurately. We believe that period-to-period comparisons of our
operating results may not be meaningful and you should not rely upon them as an indication of future
performance. We do not have backlog, and almost all of our net revenues each quarter come from items that are
listed and completed during that quarter. Our operating results in one or more future quarters may fall below the
expectations of securities analysts and investors. In that event, the trading price of our common stock would
almost certainly decline.
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