As we flip the calendar to 2006, it's a good time to review the past year. Within the online auction/ecommerce arena, 2005 was the year for Google speculation. Google generated considerable buzz by dropping hints that it was planning a PayPal clone and auction marketplace to rival eBay. Google Wallet has yet to materialize, and as of yet, Google Base has not proven to be any threat to eBay.

eBay diversified in 2005 by starting international classifieds site Kijiji and acquiring classifieds services Gumtree.com and LoQUo.com. However, eBay had some analysts scratching their heads with their acquisition of Internet telephony company Skype in a deal that could cost $4.1 billion.

China became the latest battleground for eBay, which is pinning future growth on this market. eBay is facing a considerable challenge from Taobao.com, which owns as much as 57 percent market share in China. eBay also tried their hand at web-hosting by launching ProStores and took the plunge into digital downloads in December, allowing listings in any category by any seller.

Here are some other highlights from the year past:

Overstock takes a walk on the weird side
October marked Overstock Auctions 1-year anniversary. The site benefited from disgruntled eBayers particularly when eBay increased fees in February, but sellers waited for features. Overstock drove traffic to its auction platform when it rolled out the blended Auctions and Shopping search in November. But the resulting 20 percent increase in traffic put a strain on its servers, and it did away with phone support for Auctions. Overstock.com caused a stir when its President Patrick Byrne publicly discussed Sith Lords and mobsters when making accusations of hanky-panky by some in the financial community.

Yahoo flies free
Yahoo eliminated all fees on its site in June, saying it monetizes the auction platform with banner advertising and search-based services. It again gained against eBay in Asia when it acquired a large stake in eBay's nemesis in China, Alibaba, which had been disinvited from eBay's community conference in June.

New Kids on the Block
UK company eBid expanded to the U.S., auction site Whabam launched in 2005 with staying power, unlike Wagglepop, which imploded almost as soon as it launched early in the year. Entrepreneurs, programmers and affiliates were busy designing new tools for eBay buyers and sellers, and with eBay's announcement in the fall it was doing away with developer fees, expect to see even more services introduced in 2006.

Supremely trying
To the surprise of many, the Supreme Court agreed to hear eBay's argument after an Appeals Court reversed a lower court's denial of an injunction on its Buy It Now listings. But there's no fat lady on the high court, so it's not over after the injunction ruling - there's lots more to come in this fierce battle over patents. The US patent office may also play a big role if it amends MercExchange's Buy It Now patent, as it did with the auction patent right before Christmas.

Sellers expand, payment services contract
Sellers gained more experience trying other marketplaces and techniques and continue to explore marketing techniques. Choice is always good, but payment offerings dried up with the demise of CheckFree's Auction Payments service, Yahoo PayDirect and BidPay, a convenient service that allowed buyers to pay for auctions by ordering money orders online.

Many are wondering if eBay will raise fees in the first quarter of 2006, as it did in 2005 - some predict new fees tied to duration, such as the extra fee for running 10-day auctions. We'll see if eBay bites the hands that feed it.