Ina Steiner Finally Finds the Logout Button
After 27 years, Ina Steiner and her husband, David, have shut down EcommerceBytes. It appears that Ina’s long-running rage at eBay has finally mellowed enough for her to close the laptop and get on with life.
To be fair, the harassment the Steiners suffered at the hands of former eBay employees was real, vicious and completely indefensible. But over the years, EcommerceBytes increasingly felt less like a publication covering eBay and more like a grievance desk where nearly every company decision became fresh evidence for the prosecution.
Healing apparently arrived this summer in the form of a 55 million settlement, including $46.15 million paid directly by eBay to the Steiners. Money may not buy happiness, but $46 million can certainly make retirement—and letting go of an old grudge—a little more comfortable.
Ina deserves credit for building a publication that served online sellers for nearly three decades. She also deserves the chance to finally move forward. With the lawsuit settled, the publication closed and the bank account considerably healthier, perhaps the rage has finally burned itself out.
Happy retirement, Ina. May your mornings now contain fewer eBay policy updates and considerably more time spent counting the settlement.
