The Wall Street Journal website reported on Tuesday evening that eBay will acquire additional classified-ad sites, targeting those with leading positions in geographies and industry segments in which eBay doesn't currently compete. Eastern Europe and Scandinavia are reportedly regional priorities.

Meanwhile, eBay sent emails to users in New York last week advertising its Kijiji classified website. The email advertised Kijiji as "a great way to avoid the cost and hassle of shipping since all of our listings are local. Kijiji is easy to use and it's FREE!"

Lately, many small, long-time sellers believe eBay has tipped its "level playing field" as it tries to attract larger sellers - such as Buy.com - to sell on the site, leading one seller who received the Kijiji ad to question whether eBay's strategy is to drive smaller sellers into classifieds.

eBay owns other classifieds site, including Gumtree.com, LoQUo.com, Marktplaats, Mobile.de and Rent.com, and it has a minority investment in Craigslist.

The Journal estimates that eBay's classifieds business generates between 5% - 10% of the company's $7.7 billion in annual revenue. The newspaper said eBay reports about 82 million visitors to its global classifieds sites monthly, generating 4.5 billion page views.

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