Google Not the Boss of eBay

Even if companies ranging from software giant Microsoft(MSFT) to old media's Viacom(VIA) are terrified of Google(GOOG), eBay(EBAY) isn't.

The online auctioneer seems to have a way of getting the upper hand in skirmishes with the search giant.

The latest demonstration of this should render eBay investors more confident, because it eases fears that the company will eventually fall victim to Google's growing ambitions.

Google's recent heavy-handed attempt to poach eBay users, however, seems to have backfired, with eBay deciding to pull its ads from Google in response.

And though Google quickly backed off and eBay resumed spending, the move also showed that the auction giant can get by just fine without Google.

Traffic to eBay didn't drop in the midst of the Google suspension, the company says. That spurred it to pull back from buying so many ads.

"We are using Google's ads at a much more limited level than we had before," eBay spokesman Hani Durzi said. "We found out we were not as dependent as many may have thought."

That runs counter to much of the conventional wisdom surrounding Google, says American Technology Research analyst Tim Boyd. "Who knew eBay had that kind of power over Google," he says.

"Everybody thought you needed Google, that if you try to go without them you will lose market share and not survive," Boyd says.

Want more? Check out TheStreet.com TV video. Vishesh Kumar discusses why eBay might not need Google after all.