EBay Inc.'s fourth-quarter earnings fell 31 percent, indicating that its Internet auctions and "Buy It Now" offerings are being hurt by the recession just like traditional retail sales.

The results, combined with a forecast below analysts' expectations, sent eBay shares skidding more than 6 percent in after-hours trading.

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Scary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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But the news was not all bad.

In the company's PayPal unit, which handles online payments for eBay and other sites, revenue climbed almost 11 percent to $623 million.

The company's number of active users — an important measure of how well eBay is attracting new buyers and sellers — rose almost 4 percent to 86.3 million.