Online bazaar eBay Inc. said Tuesday it had launched free classified-ad Web sites in six countries, after recently acquiring a number of other such sites in the United States and abroad.
EBay said it opened sites in Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy and Japan under the brand Kijiji, which means “village” in Swahili.
The move comes as eBay deals with pressure to keep up its astronomical growth rate as its main market matures and amid vocal complaints about the rising cost of running businesses on the massive auction and retail site.
As part of its diversification efforts, eBay in August took a 25 percent stake in San Francisco-based Craigslist.org, a free service for people seeking roommates and selling items. Craigslist makes money charging employers for help-wanted listings. Executives have said numerous times that the company is not for sale.
EBay also recently has bought stakes in classified advertising-related companies in other countries.
The Kijiji sites, which were launched Feb. 28 and are available now in more than 50 cities, aim to help people in a city meet, find information and trade ideas and goods. Individuals can list and find items on Kijiji free of charge.
“We look at it as a long-term investment. We may decide to monetize some aspects of it down the road, but now there are no plans,” said eBay spokesman Hani Durzy.
Durzy added that Craigslist is doing in the United States what eBay hopes Kijiji will do elsewhere. “We saw less of a need for Kijiji in the U.S.” he said.
EBay said the launch of Kijiji will not have a material impact on 2005 revenues.
