eBay Takes On Craigslist

07/09/07 - 11:04 AM EDT

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Vishesh Kumar

eBay(EBAY - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) is ready to play hardball.

Last week's U.S. launch of its local listings service, called Kijiji, puts eBay in a solid position to muscle into a fast-growing market -- and pits the auction giant against Craigslist, the popular classifieds service in which eBay has owned a 25% stake since 2004.

But unlike Craigslist's famously idealistic ways, eBay will make no bones about squeezing a profit out of the space.

Moreover, eBay has what it takes to beat Craigslist at its own game.

Kijiji will give eBay a bigger role in the market for local goods and services -- the next logical step for a company that dominates the auction market. Buyer and sellers of grand pianos and sofas, for example, can join the ranks of eBay users along with those interested in Apple's (AAPL - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) iPods or Nintendo's (NTDOY - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) Wii video game devices.

"The opportunity here is local commerce, and it will complement what buyers and sellers are doing on our Marketplace at a local level," says eBay spokesman Jose Mallabo. "If you want to sell something large, for example, it may not be a good fit online -- but we still see those items as a huge market."

And eBay can easily apply its existing strengths to the new market.

Want more? Check out TheStreet.com TV video. Vishesh Kumar discusses why bringing Kijiji to the U.S. is another sign that eBay is getting more aggressive.