Amazon (Amazon.com), created and originally operated as an online bookstore, is overtaking Ebay (Ebay.com) a number one online retailer. Amazon has opened doors to more than a million outside merchants who might other otherwise set up small shops with Ebay.

Busy shoppers would rather skip time consuming auctions and the opportunity to wait seven days to purchase the handbag or luxury vehicle of their dreams only to be outbid at the last minute.

Now Amazon prepares to launch the ultimate competition is successful; an online payment system, comarable to Ebay’s subsidiary Paypal.com. This has investors researching if Amazon is the new retailer to purchase now.

Take a peak at some facts from MSN’s MoneyCentral.com:

Amazon’s growth story

Numbers from the most recent quarter:

- Amazon’s sales jumped 35%, and that’s after the impact of currency changes was stripped out. In contrast, eBay’s revenue was up just 13%.

- In North America, Amazon’s revenue was up 35%, or nearly three times the growth in overall Internet retail sales tallied by comScore. In contrast, eBay’s North American   revenue grew 12%, simply in line with the market.
- Amazon finished the quarter with more than 81 million active customers, up 18% from a year ago. The number of outside merchants on its site also grew 18%, to 1.42 million. In contrast, active registered users at eBay crept up only 0.7%, to 84.5 million. For the past five quarters, the number of active users at eBay has shrunk or grown by less than 1%.
- Amazon’s global page views increased 4% in June, while eBay’s were down 11%, according to Deutsche Bank (DB, news, msgs). Visits to eBay’s U.S. Web site have been down in nine of the past 11 months.
- Amazon generates nearly twice as much revenue as eBay
- Amazon stock advanced more than 16% in the past year while eBay’s has fallen more than 25%. Amazon shares were trading recently at $88; eBay’s shares were at $26.75.

Read the complete story at MSN’s MoneyCentral.com.

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Millionaires on a Budget - Are Material Possessions What Keep the Poor Poor?

YAWNS, Young and Wealthy but Normal, is what the Sunday Telegraph of London calles young millionaires who live frugal.Labeled the Anti Paris Hilton… LOL

Rik Wehbring lives in San Francisco and survives on $50,000 a year and yes… he is a millionaire. Wehbring is “frugal by choice”. He does not own a television, drives a hybrid toyota Prius, and spends his free time listening to music on his $20 MP3 player.

“I don’t need a lot of material possessions.” exclaimes Wehbring.

YAWNS are very modest people and very environmentally conscience. Like investing mogul, Warren Buffet, who is one of the world’s wealthiest, with a net worth of $60 billion, who lives in a modest houme he bought 50 years ago and gives a lot of support to charity.

Financial Values of YAWNS - Young and Wealthy but Normal:

1. Live below your means: Don’t spend money you don’t have. This sounds like a no-brainer, yet
many of us have a hard time putting it into practice, no matter how
much money we have. Don’t rely on credit cards, and invest wisely. The wealthy know that
it’s much better to earn interest for themselves than to pay interest
to someone else. Creating a budget
can help you get your finances on track. It’ll allow you see where your
money is going and how you can manage your expenses to live within your
income.

2. Remember that stuff does not define self-worth: Living on $50,000 a year is an accomplishment and obviously let’s us know that Rik Wehbring places value on other things that are not material. Kiplinger Personal Finance Magazine suspects that YAWNs, like anyone else, find fulfillment in personal
relationships and social causes because those are things that last.

Ray Sidney, 38, a former software engineer at Google, made bank when
the company went public in 2004. Instead of living it up, he quietly
retired to Stateline, Nev. He says he probably doesn’t qualify as
frugal — he owns two planes to shuttle between home and the Bay Area
– “but I could certainly live a more fancy-pants life than I do.”

With
his means, there’s a lot of temptation to buy, buy, buy. But the habits
he learned years ago as a strapped student are well-ingrained. “I only
buy things I know I’ll use,” he says. “Why buy something to just sit
there and take up space?”

3. Give back:

“You start to realize: What’s the point of spending money when you
can think of so many better ways to use it?” says Sidney, who has
helped fund a high school football field and helped pay for a local
arts center, among other donations. With his latest pet project, he’s
aiming to do something for Mother Earth: He’s building an affordable,
eco-friendly housing development in Nevada.

Feeling generous but
strapped for cash? You may not have the bankroll of millionaires, but
you have just as much time in a day as they do. Give of yourself if not
of your wallet. (See “A dozen creative donations” for more no- or low-cash ways you can give to charity.)

Whatever
your financial situation, being charitable and socially conscious can
be rewarding — not to mention that it’s good karma.

Let us know how you plan on giving back.

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LivingPlush.com opens the gates…
All LP Members can now submit events to the LP Calendar.
So if you feel your Seasonal, Monthly, Weekly or One Time affair exudes the LP Lifestyle… The Spectacular Event will be approved and displayed via the LP Calendar.

To Add Events to the LP Calendar:

1. Visit LivingPLush.com
2. Click on LP Calendar
3. Locate Date you would like to add your event.
4. Click the + Button in the Upper Right hand corner of date box.
5. Enter Brief Description of Event. Include Locations
– example: Miami Beach, Florida – USA
6. Enter Full Description: Enter HTML Code for the Event here.
Please choose appropriate sized photos
7. Select the Date
8. For Recurring Events (weekly, monthly, daily):
Click Repeat Tab – Select Recurring Dates

9. Click Save

All Events are Subject to Approval by the LP Media Team.