Ebay Says Amazon 'Illegally' Poached High-Value Sellers in New Lawsuit

Ebay is suing Amazon, claiming the e-commerce giant illegally leveraged its internal messaging service to poach high-value sellers.

The “startling” scheme was orchestrated by hundreds of Amazon reps with ties to the company’s Seattle headquarters, eBay said in its lawsuit, filed on Wednesday in California Superior Court in San Jose, California.

“For years, and unbeknownst to eBay, Amazon has been engaged in a systematic, coordinated effort to infiltrate and exploit eBay’s proprietary M2M system on eBay’s platform to lure top eBay sellers to Amazon,” eBay said in the suit.

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Ebay’s M2M system is the company’s member-t0-member emailing system and it claims that Amazon representatives “violated” its user agreement, which prohibits its M2M system from being used to lure sellers away. Amazon employees often recruited eBay sellers within five minutes of opening accounts, the lawsuit claims. Like Amazon, eBay relies on a network of independent sellers on its site.

Ebay, pointing to messages being nearly identical from several Amazon reps, said this was a “coordinated, targeted” attack “designed to inflict harm on eBay.”

Amazon did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for comment. The company told the Wall Street Journal it was conducting an investigation into eBay’s accusations.

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Ebay added that Amazon was often successful in poaching sellers. “Amazon’s clandestine efforts have borne fruit. Its representatives have discussed the success 0f their scheme with eBay seller prospects.” The lawsuit said Amazon violated California’s penal code and business and professions code, with eBay seeking monetary damages and a court order prohibiting Amazon from recruiting more of its sellers.

Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.

Here Are the World's 10 Richest People, From Jeff Bezos to Charles Koch

Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos shook up the rankings of the world's wealthiest on Thursday, narrowly surpassing Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. Scroll through to for a countdown listing Forbes' top list of billionaires.

Also Read: Amazon’s Jeff Bezos Bumps Bill Gates to Become World’s Richest Man
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10. Charles Koch

Net worth: $48.5 billion

One half of the Koch brothers, Koch is chairman and CEO to Koch Industries, the second-largest private company in the United States. He splits control of the company with brother David.
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9. Bernard Arnault

Net worth: $53.2 billion

The CEO of LVMH, Arnault oversees 70 luxe retail brands, including Dom Perignon, Sephora, Louis Vuitton, Bulgari and Tag Huer, not to mention 3,900 other retailers. (Yes, that's Karl Lagerfeld he's pictured with here).
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8. Michael Bloomberg

Net worth: $53.3 billion

Bloomberg still retains an 88% stake in Bloomberg LP, the media and financial informations company he founded. He's donated more than $4 billion towards gun control and climate change.
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7. Larry Ellison

Net worth: $61.3 billion

The Oracle co-founder is another college dropout. He got his start building databases for the CIA and now still serves at Oracle as chairman and chief technology officer.
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6. Carlos Slim Helu

Net worth: $68.6 billion

Helu heads Mexico's largest mobile telecom firm, America Movil. He's also involved in real estate, construction consumer goods and mining companies, making him Mexico's richest man.
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5. Mark Zuckerburg

Net worth: $70.2 billion

For a Harvard dropout, the Facebook founder and CEO is doing pretty well. He and his wife have pledged to give away 99% of their Facebook stake over their lifetimes.
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4. Warren Buffet

Net worth: $74.3 billion

One of Gates' good friends, Buffet is known as one of the most successful investors ever. Berkshire Hathaway owns more than 60 companies.
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3. Amancio Ortega

Net worth: $83.5 billion

Ortega co-founded the parent company to popular fast-fashion retailer Zara, Inditex. He's the wealthiest man in Europe.
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2. Bill Gates

Net worth: $89.7 billion

The Microsoft cofounder co-chairs the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation with his wife; it's the world's largest charitable foundation.
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1. Jeff Bezos

Net worth: $90 billion

Bezos overtook Microsoft mogul Bill Gates on Thursday. He's the founder and CEO of Amazon, which passed $500 billion market value this week for the first time.
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The Amazon founder just recently passed Bill Gates. See who else is on the list

Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos shook up the rankings of the world's wealthiest on Thursday, narrowly surpassing Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates. Scroll through to for a countdown listing Forbes' top list of billionaires.

Also Read: Amazon’s Jeff Bezos Bumps Bill Gates to Become World’s Richest Man

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Here Are the World's 10 Richest People, From Jeff Bezos to Charles Koch

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