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For broadcast on CBS Radio Network stations July 13-14, 2002:


Less Competition.


The Stamp Collecting Report, I'm Lloyd de Vries.


The announcement this past week that Internet auction giant eBay is buying
payment service PayPal is sending ripples through the stamp collecting
community.


There's quite a bit of stamp activity on the Internet, and whenever you get
two or more stamp collectors together, chances are one of them is selling
stamps to another. It's just the nature of the hobby.


Most stamp sellers are part-time and don't have enough volume to accept
credit cards directly. This is true not only of stamps, but of most
collectibles. 


Enter PayPal. The company made it possible for stamp dealers and others to
accept credit cards despite a small volume of sales...just like the big
boys.


eBay tried its own service, Billpoint, but it never really did as well as
PayPal. So, if you can't lick 'em, BUY 'em, and that's what eBay is doing.


It was fun watching Billpoint and PayPal fight over our business. Now,
without much competition, what will happen to fees and service?


And that's stamp collecting this week. 


I'm Lloyd de Vries, CBS News. 


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