eBay Knocks Out Yahoo! Auctions

The fight is over, and eBay won. In a message on its site, Yahoo! told users it would discontinue its auction service.

"After careful consideration, we have decided to close down our Yahoo US and Canada Auction sites to better serve our valued customers through other Yahoo properties," the U.S. auctions site told visitors on Tuesday.

According to Hitwise, Yahoo had little choice but to shut down in a field dominated by eBay, which has a 94 percent market share.

"It comes with little surprise given Yahoo's advertising relationship with eBay, and eBay's massive dominance of the auction category," Hitwise research director LeeAnn Prescott wrote.

The decision to dump the auction service comes on the heels of last week's move to scrap Yahoo Photos. The company told users to migrate to Flickr.

"We are making great strides in our ongoing efforts to align Yahoo's resources and focus on core strategic priorities," said Jeff Weiner, executive vice president of Yahoo's Network Division.

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