I just happened to do a drive-by eBay's homepage today and noticed a promotion for their new eBay Classifieds. The first thing that popped into my head was Craigslist competition.
I'm not much of an eBayer and I've never used Craigslist, but I do know about the on-going feud between the two companies. eBay has always been interested in acquiring Craigslist, only to be rebuffed by the company founder. I actually admire Craig Newmark for his way of running his business and his lackadaisical attitude towards money. Also I love the fact that despite Craigslist's 90-ish style (no flashy Web 2.0 or RIA stuff) it still manages to attract millions of users. That's a testimony to its effectiveness through simplicity.
So now with eBay entering the online classifieds market, with a minimalist site, it remains to be seen whether it can unseat the uber-popular Craigslist. It's not an impossible task for the well-heeled eBay, but it'll be a long and hard battle with no guarantees of success.