Under increasing pressure from rivals like Amazon.com, eBay has seen its dominance in e-commerce diminished in recent years, as both buyers and merchants seek new alternatives in online shopping.

"The [eBay] marketplace hasn't kept up with competition, nor customer needs," he said at eBay's meeting with financial analysts at its San Jose, California, headquarters.

EBay has been a victim of its success, which has made it hard to implement changes needed to take advantage of future opportunities. "We were trying to protect our past," he said.

In 2008's fourth quarter, the Marketplaces unit saw its revenue decline 16 percent, compared with the same quarter in 2007, while gross merchandise volume declined 12 percent. Unique monthly users also dropped year-on-year.

EBay began strictly as an online auction site but has since become more diversified, allowing the sale of fixed-price items and letting merchants open "stores."