a brief history of the largest online auction site

A Look Behind The eBay Homepage

So, you've heard of eBay, but not sure, exactly, what it is. Then read on. A fellow by the name of Pierre Omidyar, created eBay back in 1995. Pierre's idea was that markets could be created, using the Internet, through online auction sites. So to test this theory, he went looking for a way to create an efficient place to trade. He pioneered the auction format for online person-to-person trading, creating a simple, easy-to-understand mechanism that let buyers and sellers decide the true value of items and build relationships with others. Ultimately, he built eBay, the worlds first, truly successful, truly profitable, online auction site. Now there are several online auction sites, with eBay being the leader of the pack. Why not take a sneak peak at the eBay homepage, and visit www.eBay.com.

eBay's mission is simple: To provide a global trading platform where practically anyone can trade practically anything using their dedicated and trusted auction online technology.

Now the World is an eBay Marketplace

eBay is far reaching with a local web site presence in 23 countries, and an amazing 153 million registered members from all around the world. Globally, eBay has more than 25 million items listed for sale at any one time, and an additional 3.5 million new items are added every single day. No weekly classifieds newspaper could ever hope to compete with that sort of reach.

People go to eBay to buy and sell items in many thousands of categories, from collectibles like trading cards, antiques, dolls, and artwork to practical items like used cars, fashion, books, CDs, and electronics. As a buyer you have the option to purchase items in an auction-style format, or items can be purchased at a fixed price through a unique eBay feature called Buy It Now.

About the Author

James Robinson is an Australian writer, broadcaster and commentator. He lives in the world famous Blue Mountains of Sydney.

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