eBay has pulled its ads from Google's search-based AdWords network in the US, an eBay spokesman on Wednesday. Computerworld, which originally reported the move, cited a source as saying it was in response to Google's decision to hold a party starting at the same time as an eBay conference for merchants who sell on its site.
The Google "Checkout Freedom Party," is part of an effort to lobby eBay to accept its online payment system, known as Google Checkout, which competes with eBay's PayPal.
eBay spokesman Hani Durzy told Reuters eBay was disappointed about the Google event. "We don't view that kind of activity as an appropriate activity for one partner to do to another."
The move exposes the widening rift between eBay and Google, as they increasingly compete on new products, making a public showdown inevitable.
However, on Wednesday, Google canceled the party, a day before it was to take place at the Old South Meeting House, just a short trolley ride from eBay Live at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center. Google explained the decision in a blog posting, saying: "eBay Live attendees have plenty of activities to keep them busy this week in Boston, and we did not want to detract from that activity. After speaking with officials at eBay, we at Google agreed that it was better for us not to feature this event during the eBay Live conference."
Durzy said eBay was pleased by the cancellation, cast the abrupt advertising freeze as an experiment, albeit far larger in scale than usual.
"This is part of an ongoing experiment to look at how we market across all media channels," told Reuters.
