Hello eBay

There has been a change in plan.

Missing the chance to sell Vodafone at a decent price on Tuesday I am now even more hacked off with them and do not plan to buy back into them. When I finally offload this under-performer at above 140p I think the money is going across the Atlantic. The Dollar is cheap at the moment and there are companies in the US that just don’t have UK equivalents. I am talking of course of the like of Google, eBay and Qualcomm.

I don’t plan to put any more money into Google. I am less keen on companies that depend on advertising for revenue and it has its hands in many pies it would seem.

EBay appeals the most. It is such a fantastic company. No inventory. Almost no competition. It is an integral part of everyday life for millions of people. There are even services in the US that will sell all your junk on eBay for you and take a cut. EBay of course takes its cut. The rise in automobile sales looks fantastic for eBay. In the UK it can charge between £15 and £30 pounds for hosting the transaction. How much does it cost eBay? A couple of pence I would guess.

I feel lucky with eBay. Lucky that I can buy the shares now and not in ten years time when they cost 8 times as much. Lucky that I can get them for just over $40 when they were almost $60 a few months ago.

If I plow all the Vodafone money into eBay then over 60% of my portfolio will be in one company. This obviously presents a risk. But is it stupid? I don’t think so – not with eBay. As one broker recently said, the risk – reward ratio with eBay is in the investors’ favour. And I am young and a long way from retirement. I don’t mind risk. In fact I embrace it.

Buy eBay!