Well the web is abuzz with the latest eBay news. eBay laying off 1,000 employees and at the same time, buying stuff up. Like “Bill Me Later”. I had heard the name Bill Me Later tossed around a bit but never paid much attention to it. My first question was … why are they buying a payment system when they have PayPal? Then I realized that BML is a deferred billing system where PayPal is a pay now system. Umm. Except for PayPal’s extended pay options. Hmm.Doing some further research, I found this article from last December. Amazon invested in Bill Me Later and took at “equity stake” in the company. Does that mean Amazon has a chunk of eBay now?

Buying stuff on Amazon is about to get even easier. The online retailer took an equity stake in a Maryland-based company called Bill Me Later that lets people shop now and pay later at more than 700 Websites, including the Apple Store, Overstock, Walmart.com, and ToysRus.com. Amazon will be offering the payment option as well. (It competes with PayPal’s Pay Later service).

Amazon Invests in Bill Me Later