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Have you been watching the interesting little punch-up that's been going on over the last week or so between eBay and Google? Of course to us a fight that's costing Google millions of dollars in lost revenue really isn't that big a deal and it's probably something that wouldn't be of all that much interest to little people like us ... except for the fact that there's a lesson there for all of us to learn.

As you're no doubt aware Google is pretty much a law unto itself. It doesn't care about copyright or ownership; it just grabs what it wants and displays it for everyone to see. Of course it justifies its actions by explaining that all it is really doing is enhancing the search experience for people. It seems that Google feels that's all the justification it needs to ride roughshod over everyone else on the planet.

If you or I had an attitude like that and went about our business in that way sooner or later we'd come up against someone who'd give us a good smack in the mouth and teach us about the realities of life. But then neither you nor I have the power of Google and with that power they thought they could behave like the ultimate bully and not worry about who or what they offended.

But now it seems that eBay has given them a proverbial smack in the mouth and it's caused Google to take a step back. Suddenly they're feeling a little pain and perhaps an important lesson is beginning to sink in and it all had to do with Google Checkout.

For quite some time Google has been trying to get Google Checkout accepted by eBay as an alternative payment method for buyers and sellers who currently use eBay's PayPal. And for quite some time Google has been having absolutely no success.

So last week Google decided it was time to assume the high moral ground and really press the point about Google Checkout. Last week eBay was holding a major conference for its users and Google decided that was the time to strike. They announced a major party to be held in conjunction with the conference. The party was called 'Let Freedom Ring' - the freedom being the chance to choose between PayPal and Google Checkout - and all attendees at eBay's conference were invited to attend the party.

I guess that seemed like a great move to all the Googlers who are involved in finding ways to overcome minor inconveniences like eBay's intransigence. After all they're the mighty Google and nothing stands in the way of Google. Well nothing had stood in the way of Google in the past but now they were looking at a seriously pissed off eBay who had been their business partner up until that point.

In fact eBay hadn't been just any business partner; up until Google announced the party eBay had been Google's biggest advertiser with a spend of something like $26 million dollars a month. But now things have changed.

When Google announced their righteous party eBay decided it was time to smack Google in the mouth. Of course one CEO or chairman of a company doesn't go up to their opposing number and commit an assault upon their person. Oh no, when a company like eBay gets totally pissed off with another company like Google they hit them in the pocket and that's what eBay did. Ebay canceled all their advertising with Google in the US.

That must have come as something of a rude shock to Google and hopefully they've now found that it's not a wise business move to offend your major partner. But I'm sure that Google thought they could smooth things over by simply canceling the party but that was when eBay taught them another lesson. When you really piss someone off they tend to stay pissed off for quite some time.

eBay is still not advertising on Google as I write this column.

Hopefully I don't have to spell out the lesson here for us here in adult. Hopefully you will understand that business partners are important and when you piss them off, or to put it more politely - offend them - it's going to hurt and it's going to hurt your business.

So treat your partners like gold because that's exactly what they are worth. They might only be a small part of your overall business but if you offend them you'll soon find that even the loss of small parts of your business can hurt you.