2003年7月时，eBay买下了当时中国网络第一拍卖网站——易趣网。当时，这似乎是世界上最好的网络商机，只有eBay才有机会抓紧机会。
　　但iResearch(研究市场趋势的一家企业)的资料却显示，三年来，易趣网的市场份额下跌了超过50%，这主要是由于客户偏爱较本地化的其他拍卖商。

　　上周，eBay宣布关闭易趣网，并将与北京一家网络公司TOM在线一同启用一个新的中国网站。在这项合作计划中，TOM在线拥有大部分股份。

　　许多世界最强大的网络公司都在中国这个广受欢迎的网络市场，与当地的竞争者展开大战，这只不过是其中之一。中国的网络用户数量超过了1.23亿人，仅次于美国。而这个数字同时也代表了总人口的10%。

　　由于中国有迅速增长的潜能，美国在线和雅虎等网络公司都已于1999年进军中国。可是，对中国前景的乐观心态，也造成了不少严重的误差。许多网络公司在经历挫折后，都逐渐放弃，将中国市场归还给中国合作伙伴，他们不得不承认，只有中国才最清楚中国人想要的是什么。

　　淘宝网超越了易趣网，成为中国最受欢迎的网络卖场。其发言人Porter Erisman说，西方用户喜欢Google类型的简单界面，但中国用户却更习惯让人眼花缭乱的页面，他说：“他们不喜欢简易的平台。”

　　同时，中国人也并不怎么喜欢拍卖这样价格不断上涨的东西。Erisman说：“中国人习惯从较高的价格开始杀价，使价格变低。”

　　中国媒体公司DoNews.com的特色是科技信息，其创始人刘韧说：“在网上，你必须以最快的速度对用户的反馈意见做出反应。而国际网站灵活性一直不大。”

　　主队优势

　　研究中国科技行业的分析家指出，政府有时会让外国公司的处境十分为难，他们通过法律和条规，一再地包庇国内企业。

　　自从美国在线在2001年在香港失去立足点后，它便关闭了面对中国的网络服务。美国在线也是第一个撤离中国投资市场的外国公司。雅虎于2005年进军中国市场，并花了10亿美元收购了阿里巴巴网的小部分股份。阿里巴巴是一家中国公司，目前正管理雅虎在中国的入门网站。

　　微软与MSN中国则以另一种形态出发。2005年5月时，他们由上海地方政府支持，联手进军中国市场。但官方的认可和微软在中国研发设备方面投资的增加，都无法让微软幸免于始料未及的政治风雨。
　　这个月初，一家中国报纸报道，有匿名消息指出，微软的这项计划未通过中国信息部的执照审核。报纸预料说，微软可能因此需要外包MSN入门网站的运作。
　　微软则否认这则报告。微软在线服务部门的小组产品经理Brooke Richardson说：“我们正积极与中国相关部门合作，以更新执照。”
　　公司外的分析家说，他们还不知道MSN中国是否已有市场占有率。入门网站启用时，MSN即时消息服务在中国类似服务中的受欢迎程度曾排名第二，榜首则是中国的服务商QQ。MSN Hotmail则是第四受欢迎的免费电子邮件服务，前三名分别为网易、雅虎和新浪。新浪也是一家中国公司。
　　期间，Google的搜索引擎也于2000年开始进军中国，但却惨败给中国搜索引擎百度，百度的市场占有率为60%。中国的一家市场调查公司，正望咨询的资料显示，Google的市场占有率已跌至百度的一半以下。今年，Google在北京的市场占有率就从33%跌至21%。
　　DoNews.com的刘韧说，百度的速度比较快，中文内容较多，在将自己推销给中国用户方面也做得比较好。他说：“Google一直都很失败，我们都为此感到惊讶，或许他们终将撤离中国。”
　　Google在公众关系部门所发布的声明中说，中国是一个很重要的市场
　　声明中说：“我们正在中国建立强大的团体和运作队伍，并承诺为中国的用户、宣传商和合作伙伴提供最棒的搜索经验和搜索服务，同时为中国网络行业的发展做出正面的贡献。”
　　Draper Fisher Jurvetson自1999年起投资中国，该公司的冒险资本家Steve Jurvetson说：“主队肯定是有优势的。”
　　易趣网与淘宝网
　　对易趣网来说，主队优势其实是属于eBay的。基于圣何塞的eBay自2002年起投资易趣网。当时，eBay投资了约1.8亿美元，这也使易趣网占有了80%的中国网络贸易市场。
　　但却有批评指出，eBay想将易趣网转移到eBay平台上的举动，其实却帮了对手一把。对手则是阿里巴巴属下的淘宝网。北京正望咨询的管理伙伴Peter Lu说：“这使中国用户面对了不少问题，他们也因此转移到了淘宝网。”
　　从2003年到2005年，淘宝网的市场占有率增长了大约7倍，从原来的8%到达了59%。
　　与eBay不同的是，淘宝并没有为上市而展开收费行动，他们通过阿里巴巴的商业网络服务取得运作费。淘宝网所设计的伸缩性质也是易趣网所没有的。
　　Erisman说，淘宝的网站设计就像是中国百货市场布局的翻版，将男女部分成不同的垂片。他说：“这看来并不是什么新颖的主意。但他们在中国时是这样购物的，因此他们喜欢这样的布局。”
　　况且，淘宝网提供了内置的在线聊天服务，增加了买家和卖家之间的信任。而eBay则只在今年将Skype的呼叫服务融入自己的中国市场。
　　寻找合作伙伴
　　美国网络公司进军并测试中国市场已有8年，有分析家相信，想要成功，美国公司必须寻找适合的合作伙伴，比如雅虎就购买了阿里巴巴的股份。
　　花旗集团的分析家Mark Mahaney在一份有关美国网络公司在中国和韩国所面对的挑战的研究报告中写道：“雅虎在亚洲的地位或许的确最具竞争实力。”
　　这份报告上周发布，Mahaney在报告中说，eBay宣布关闭易趣网，意味着他们已宣布“他们在中国市场没有获得成功。”
　　eBay发言人Hani Durzv说：“我们从在中国的经历中学到了很多东西。其中一样是，若真想获得长时期的成功，拥有一位强大的当地合作伙伴则是关键。”
　　ebay与TOM在线的新合约要求eBay投资4000万美元，TOM在线则需投资2000万美元，但TOM却将占有51%的股份。eBay的执行总裁Meg Whitman在一次记者会上说：“尽管财政支出有差距，但我们仍认为这项交易是相当平等的。”她也特别指出TOM在线的无线服务业务十分强大。
　　Whitman否认eBay收购易趣网是一个失败。她说：“我们认为，中国使我们又再进化了。”

英文原文：http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/16311645.htm

　　EBay's China lesson: Go local
　　STUNG BY FAILURES, U.S. FIRMS SEE VALUE IN FINDING PARTNERS
　　By Elise Ackerman
　　Mercury News
　　When eBay bought EachNet, China's then-leading online auctioneer, in July 2003, it seemed the world's most-promising e-commerce opportunity would only be eBay's to lose.

　　But in three years, EachNet's market share fell by more than half, according to iResearch, a firm that studies market trends, as shoppers turned to a competitor more in tune with Chinese users.

　　Last week eBay announced it was shutting down EachNet and launching a new Chinese marketplace in partnership with Tom Online, a Beijing-based Internet company that will hold the majority stake in the joint venture.

　　It was the latest in a string of dramatic reversals for some of the world's most powerful Internet companies as they face strong local competitors in the battle for China's highly desirable online market. Already second in Internet use to the United States, China counts more than 123 million Web surfers. And that number represents less than 10 percent of its total population.

　　The potential for explosive growth began drawing Internet companies like AOL and Yahoo to China in 1999. But optimism about China's prospects also fueled serious miscalculations. Chastened by their failures, Internet companies increasingly are giving up control to Chinese partners, a tacit admission that the locals know best.

　　Porter Erisman, a spokesman for Taobao.com, the site that succeeded EachNet as China's most popular consumer marketplace, said that although Western users value Google-esque simplicity, Chinese are accustomed to being bombarded with sights and sounds. ``They don't want a minimalist platform,'' Erisman said.

　　Chinese also were taken aback by the notion of an auction -- where bids go up. ``In China people are used to starting with a high price and haggling down to a low price,'' Erisman said.

　　``In the Internet space, you have to react to user feedback very quickly,'' said Liu Ren, the founder of DoNews.com, a Chinese media company specializing in technology news. ``Global platforms have been very inflexible.''

　　Home-team advantage

　　Analysts who study China's technology industry also point out that the government sometimes stacks the deck against foreign companies, favoring Chinese businesses via a byzantine system of laws and regulations.

　　America Online was the first to back away from its Chinese investment, shutting its Chinese Internet service in 2001 after failing to gain a foothold in Hong Kong. Yahoo threw in the towel in 2005 and spent $1 billion to purchase a minority stake in Alibaba.com, a Chinese company that took over management of the Yahoo China portal.

　　Microsoft took a somewhat different approach with MSN China, launching a joint venture in May 2005 with an entity backed by the Shanghai municipal government. But even official sanction -- and increasing investment by Microsoft in a Chinese research and development facility -- has not protected Microsoft from unexpected political twists.

　　Earlier this month, a Chinese newspaper reported that the joint venture had failed its annual license review by the Ministry of Information, citing an anonymous source. The newspaper predicted Microsoft would have to outsource the operations of its MSN portal as a result.

　　Microsoft disputed the report. ``We are actively cooperating with authorities in China on the licensing renewal process,'' said Brooke Richardson, group product manager for Microsoft's online services division.

　　Outside analysts say they do not yet know whether MSN China has gained market share. At the time the portal launched, MSN Instant Messenger was the second-most popular such service in China, following QQ, a Chinese service. MSN Hotmail ranked as the fourth-most popular free e-mail service, following Netease, Yahoo and Sina, another Chinese company.

　　Meanwhile, Google, whose search engine became available in China in 2000, has suffered clear-cut losses to Baidu, the top-ranked Chinese search engine, with a 60 percent market share. According to China IntelliConsulting, a market-research firm, Google's market share has fallen to less than half of Baidu's. In Beijing alone this past year, Google's market share withered from about 33 percent to 21 percent.

　　Ren, of DoNews.com, said Baidu was faster, had more Chinese content and did a better job of marketing itself to Chinese users. ``Google has been very unsuccessful, to the degree that we are all surprised,'' Ren said. ``Maybe they will eventually withdraw from China.''

　　In a statement released by its public-relations department, Google said China is an important market.

　　``We are building a strong team and operation there, and are committed to providing our users, advertisers and partners in China with the best search experience and services, and to making a positive contribution to the development of China's Internet industry,'' the statement said.

　　``The home teams certainly seem to have the advantage,'' said Steve Jurvetson, a venture capitalist whose firm, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, began investing in China in 1999.

　　EachNet vs. Taobao

　　In the case of EachNet, however, the home-town advantage was supposed to be eBay's. The San Jose-based auctioneer began investing in the Chinese firm in 2002. At the time the $180 million investment was completed, EachNet owned more than 80 percent of China's e-commerce market.

　　But critics say eBay's efforts to shift EachNet onto eBay's platform actually helped its rival, Taobao.com, which was owned by Alibaba.com. ``That caused a lot of problems for Chinese users and made them transfer to Taobao,'' said Peter Lu, a managing partner at China IntelliConsulting.

　　From 2003 through 2005, Taobao's market share increased more than sevenfold, from 8 percent to 59 percent.

　　Unlike eBay, Taobao didn't charge for listings, funding its operation through Alibaba's online service for businesses. Taobao also had design flexibility that EachNet did not.

　　Erisman said Taobao's site reflected the layout of a Chinese department store, with tabs for the women's and men's departments. ``That may not seem like a revolutionary idea, but in China that's the way they are used to shopping and they like that approach,'' Erisman said.

　　In addition, Taobao offered built-in live chat, which made it easier for buyers and sellers to trust each other. In contrast, eBay only integrated the Skype calling service into its Chinese marketplace this year.

　　Finding a partner

　　Indeed, eight years after U.S. Internet companies began testing the Chinese market, some analysts believe that a strategic partnership, such as Yahoo's stake in Taobao's parent, Alibaba, is the key to success.

　　``Yahoo is arguably the best competitively positioned in Asia,'' Mark Mahaney, an analyst at Citigroup, wrote in a research note about the challenge facing U.S. Internet companies in China and South Korea.

　　In the note, published last week, Mahaney said eBay's announcement that it was shutting EachNet was an acknowledgment that ``it has not succeeded in the China market.''

　　``We've learned a lot in our experience in China,'' eBay spokesman Hani Durzy said. ``One of the things we've learned is that to really succeed in the long term, having a really strong local partner is key.''

　　EBay's new deal with Tom Online requires a $40 million investment from eBay and a $20 million investment from Tom, even though Tom will own 51 percent. ``We feel the deal is quite balanced although the financial contributions were different,'' Ebay chief executive Meg Whitman said in a conference call, noting Tom's strong wireless services business.

　　Whitman disputed that eBay's acquisition of EachNet was a failure. ``We see it as an evolution in China,'' she said.