While the stock of eBay descended over the last three years, CEO Meg Whitman asked investors to be patient, and when the online auction site announced that John Donahoe would take over the top job, his clear message for investors was that 2008 would not be their year either. eBay might recover, but it will likely take a while. Managing eBay is one of the hardest jobs in the tech industry, and the new CEO Donahoe has the daunting responsibility of attempting to keep happy three vocal and frequently opposing groups: eBays investors, buyers, and sellers. Whitman did a good job of balancing the opposing interests for years, yet she struggled more recently to satisfy any of those factions. Buyers and sellers are testing out rival websites, and investors are angry that their shares have lost half their value. Donohoe indicated that his first priority as CEO will be to revitalize eBays core business, even if that comes at investors expense, as eBays near-term strategy will constrain its financial results. Donahoe plans to decrease some of the fees that eBay charges sellers to draw in more users and to convince them to offer a greater array of products, and he plans significant technology investments. Some sellers have found that it is frequently easier and more efficient to sell items on rival sites such as Amazon.com, where there is technology that makes it simpler for buyers and because Amazon is trustworthy based on its support of third-party transactions. Whitman made some investments that buyers and sellers want, but Donahoe will definitely need to build on them to bring the old vibrancy back to eBays marketplace. eBay plans to start a loyalty program for sellers, to come down hard on fraudulent sellers, and to provide more protection to buyers.