YOUR VIEWS Letters to the Editor

Imagine my surprise to see my company on the front page of the September 12, 2003 Technique. (I receive the Technique by snail mail so it“s usually late.)

I am the Manager of the Usability Group at eBay and was excited to see that Georgia Tech would be offering auctions on eBay.

This gives alumni from around the world the opportunity to bid on Georgia Tech items to which they would otherwise not have access.

I was saddened to see your depiction of eBay in the consensus editorial. I was surprised at your lack of understanding of what the eBay site is about. The example you used [a kidney being sold on the auction site] happened four years ago and was halted the moment eBay became aware of it.

eBay is currently the sole source of income for over 100,000 people. There are over 16 million items up for sale today and not one of them is a kidney. We are also one of the few companies who had both the techinical and business insight to successfully (and profitably) use the Internet.

Fortunately, I will not be deterred from my desire to hire Georgia Tech graduates this year. I will not let one thoughtless editorial sully the name of what I believe to be one of the greatest schools in this country. I would suggest you do the same and at least research a company before saying it would be “heinous” to use its product.