eBay’s continuing battle against online stores like Amazon and Kelkoo gained momentum this week with a new tool designed to pull shoppers towards the online auction giant. eBay executives are increasingly looking at ways to draw customers away from other online shopping sites – the most recent example being their push on “Buy it Now” and “fixed Price” sales. Already questions have been raised as to whether making eBay similar to these other stores will ultimately see the auction house loosing its identity and becoming yet another store bustling for prominence in an overcrowded market. 

Thankfully eBay’s latest weapon in the battle does exactly what it has continued to do since its inception; develop a quirky and original tool that will keep shoppers aware of the savings that can be made by using the online auction house and giving instant comparisons with other stores. The “Browser Highlighter” released this week is a downloaded tool that creates an icon on the tool bar on Explorer or Firefox. When the icon is selected the browser window becomes an interactive price compare tool, simply click on the “Compare on eBay” link that sits alongside the search results to be directed to the correct auction page. More impressive is the options for pages that don’t have the icon such as Amazon or Kelkoo. Highlight the products name and the same “Compare on eBay” logo pops up offering links to auctions where that item is being sold. 

This will be an excellent time saving device for regular eBay shoppers, but – perhaps most crucially – will serve as an instant access to eBay for non-users. The browser directs towards fixed price items and auctions giving users even more options to buy and sellers an even larger market for their goods.