One Start-Up’s Adventure in Figuring Out the Price of a Used Chair

Priceonomics, a small company that aspires to be the Kelley Blue Book for everything, tells the tale of how it sold four used Aeron chairs to another tech start-up, for a profit of $300.
aeron-chair-feature

eBay Commercials Coming to Let You Know “It’s Not Your Mother’s eBay Anymore”

EBay is kicking off a TV campaign to help bring back consumers, who may not have purchased anything on the site since the retailer was only auctioning off used goods.
ebay_commercial

Borders to Shut Down

Borders Group Inc. said it would liquidate after the second-largest U.S. bookstore chain failed to receive any offers to save it. Borders, which employs about 10,700 people, scrapped a bankruptcy-court auction scheduled for Tuesday amid the dearth of bids.

Nortel Patents Go to Group That Includes Apple, Microsoft, RIM and More

The networking company, which is currently in bankruptcy proceedings, said late Thursday that it will receive $4.5 billion from a consortium of tech companies made up of Apple, EMC, Ericsson, Microsoft, Research In Motion and Sony. The patent collection includes some 6,000 patents including key patents in the areas of wireless and networking.
patent-description

Apple and Intel Could Raise Ante in Google’s Play for Nortel Patents

Earlier this week Nortel postponed the bankruptcy auction for its collection of 6,000-plus wireless patents by seven days, citing a “significant level of interest” in them. Now the source of that interest has been identified.
patent_bidding_war

Confirmed: Microsoft Will Announce Acquisition of Skype Tomorrow Morning

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier tonight that Microsoft–in what would be its most aggressive acquisition in the digital space–was zeroing in on buying Skype for $8.5 billion all in. Sources told BoomTown tonight that the deal for the online telephony and video communications giant is actually done and will be announced early tomorrow morning.

News Byte

Google May Have Company in Bid for Nortel's Patents

Now that Nortel Networks has been given the nod to go ahead with its IP auction, new bidders are emerging for the collection of 6,000-plus wireless patents. Which means Google may have to raise its $900 million “stalking-horse bid” if it hopes to prevail in the auction. “Patent risk solutions provider” RPX recently expressed interest in the Nortel portfolio, says Bloomberg. And Research In Motion is said to be mulling a bid in the June 20 auction as well.

Yahoo Bored Meeting? Not This Time!

Today and tomorrow, Yahoo’s directors are gathering here in Silicon Valley for one of their regular meetings that take place over the course of the year. While board meetings in general are usually pretty dull affairs–and Yahoo’s, in particular, are typically glacial ones–there is a lot on the plates of those with purview over the machinations of the long-struggling Silicon Valley Internet giant.

Got Any Old IP Addresses? Need to Raise Cash? You May Be in Luck

Microsoft has paid $7.5 million to buy a block of 666,000 IP addresses from the bankrupt networking company Nortel. With IP addresses scarce, it’s probably not the last time we’ll see a deal like this.

News Byte

EBay Drops the Price to Free for Up to 50 Auction Listings

EBay said Tuesday that for the first time ever, it is making it free to list up to 50 items a month on its auction site and that it will be free to add the “Buy it Now” option. Prices will be effective starting April 19. The promotions are designed to drive increases in both new listers and listings. Currently the prices for the service vary by the starting price of the item. If someone were listing 50 items a month at the highest price and added Buy It Now to all of them, the current cost would be $112.

Who Wants Nortel’s 4G Patents?

Ciena Snags Nortel’s Optical Business

RIM to Nortel: WTF?