EBay Inc. is getting a bit more ink than usual. The online auction house has agreed with the Star Tribune in Minneapolis and the St. Petersburg Times in Florida to publish, at reduced rates, some of its merchandise listings as classified ads. It's an armistice of sorts in the competition between newspapers and online companies to list the most "For Sale" signs.

"There's no doubt there's still a perception of enmity between newspapers and the Internet world," says Ronald Dupont Jr., general manager of the Times' Internet department. "We're now getting to a position where we're not afraid of Internet companies. We're saying, 'Hey, we can team with them.'"

While eBay is pleased with the additional promotion, the papers are excited about the boost for classified sales. "Most newspapers on the planet are losing classified ads, and we have a chance to turn this around," Dupont says. "They get the sustained marketing that only a newspaper can give."

Analysts say eBay is likely to make similar deals with more papers.