EBay chief executive Meg Whitman says the company’s expertise in running online auctions will fend off competition from Google.

“We take every competitor very seriously, but we really do have a tremendous position in the marketplace,” Whitman says. “We’re the experts at running marketplaces. We’ve been at this now for 10 years.”

The world’s largest online auctioneer is increasingly competing with Google, which in November debuted a website that lets users post information including classified ads and job listings.

The threat from rivals, including Google (the internet search engine is also developing a web payment service), may force eBay to spend more on marketing and acquisitions to drive growth.

Posted: 01|31|06 at 8:57 am. Filed under: Auction News.