Why eBay Will Never Be Great Again

There was a time when eBay (EBAY) was the cool place to shop.

When Tickle Me Elmo dolls, classic vinyl records, and Beanie Babies ran scarce at area retailers, folks would flock to the auction marketplace to see if they could outlast rival bidders to victoriously nab hot items.

This doesn't mean eBay isn't popular these days. eBay's marketplace helped sellers move $14.7 billion in gross merchandise, excluding cars, in its latest quarter. The company's PayPal juggernaut is now up to 100.3 million active registered accounts, serving as the middleman for $28.7 billion worth of net payments during the second quarter alone.

Bigger isn't necessarily better, though.

Shares of eBay are trading essentially where they were five years ago. The world has passed eBay by, and the next five years aren't likely to be much better.

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