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eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) is an American Internet company that manages
eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and
businesses buy and sell goods and services worldwide. In addition to
its original U.S. website, eBay has established localized websites in
several other countries. eBay Inc also owns PayPal, Skype, and other
businesses.
Origins and early history
The online auction web site was founded in San Jose, California on September
3, 1995 by computer programmer Pierre Omidyar as AuctionWeb, part of
a larger personal site that included, among other things, Omidyar's
own tongue-in-cheek tribute to the Ebola virus.
The very first item sold on eBay was a broken laser pointer for $14.83.
Astonished, Omidyar contacted the winning bidder and asked if he understood
that the laser pointer was broken. In his responding email, the buyer
explained: "I'm a collector of broken laser pointers." The frequently
repeated story that eBay was founded to help Omidyar's fiancée trade
PEZ Candy dispensers was fabricated by a public relations manager in
1997 to interest the media. This was revealed in Adam Cohen's 2002 book
and confirmed by eBay.
Chris Agarpao was hired as eBay's first employee and Jeff Skoll was
hired as the first president of the company in 1996. In November 1996,
eBay entered into its first third-party licensing deal, with a company
called Electronic Travel Auction to use SmartMarket Technology to sell
plane tickets and other travel products. The company officially changed
the name of its service from AuctionWeb to eBay in September 1997. Originally,
the site belonged to Echo Bay Technology Group, Omidyar's consulting
firm. Omidyar had tried to register the domain name echobay.com(this
companies slogan is now "What eBay could have been.") but found it already
taken by the Echo Bay Mines, a gold mining company, so he shortened
it to his second choice, eBay.com.
eBay went public in 1998, and both Omidyar and Skoll became instant
billionaires. The company purchased PayPal in October 2002.
Items and services
Millions of collectibles, appliances, computers, furniture, equipment,
vehicles, and other miscellaneous items are listed, bought, and sold
daily. In 2005, eBay launched its Business & Industrial category, breaking
into the industrial surplus business. Some items are rare and valuable,
while many others are dusty gizmos that would have been discarded if
not for the thousands of eager bidders worldwide. Anything can be sold
as long as it is not illegal or does not violate the eBay Prohibited
and Restricted Items policy. Services and intangibles can be sold too.
Large international companies, such as IBM, sell their newest products
and offer services on eBay using competitive auctions and fixed-priced
storefronts. Regional searches of the database make shipping slightly
faster and cheaper. Separate eBay sites such as eBay US and eBay UK
allow the users to trade using the local currency as an additional option
to PayPal. Software developers can create applications that integrate
with eBay through the eBay API by joining the eBay Developers Program.
As of June 2005, there were over 15,000 members in the eBay Developers
Program, comprising a broad range of companies creating software applications
to support eBay buyers and sellers as well as eBay Affiliates.
Controversy has arisen over certain items put up for bid. For instance,
in late 1999 a man offered one of his kidneys for auction on eBay, attempting
to profit from the potentially lucrative (and, in the United States,
illegal) market for transplantable human organs. On other occasions,
people and even entire towns have been listed, often as a joke or to
garner free publicity. In general, the company removes auctions that
violate its terms of service agreement within a short time after hearing
of the auction from an outsider; the company's policy is to not pre-approve
transactions. eBay is also an easy place for unscrupulous sellers to
market counterfeit merchandise, which can be difficult for novice buyers
to distinguish without careful studying of the auction description.
eBay's Latin American partner is MercadoLibre.
eBay's rivals include Amazon.com Marketplace.
eBay Express
In April of 2006, eBay opened its new eBay Express site, which is designed
to work like a standard Internet shopping site to consumers with United
States addresses (eBay Express). Selected eBay items are mirrored on
eBay Express where buyers shop using a shopping cart to purchase from
multiple sellers. The UK version was launched to eBay members in mid
October 2006 (eBay Express UK), and differs from the US version by only
offering brand new items from pre-vetted business sellers. The German
version was also opened in 2006 (eBay Express Germany).
eBay Blogs, eBay Community Wiki, eBay Mobile
In June of 2006, eBay added an eBay Community Wiki and eBay Blogs to
its Community Content which also includes the Discussion Boards, Groups,
Answer Center, Chat Rooms and Reviews & Guides. Ebay has a robust mobile
offering, including SMS alerts, a WAP site, and J2ME clients, available
in certain markets.
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