The Internet Auction Has Come A Long Way From Its Humble Beginnings As Auction Web

eBay was the first internet auction and is by far the largest. The eBay online auction site, originally called Auction Web, was started in 1995 by Pierre Omidyar.. He started the website to help his girlfriend, who was an avid Pez collector, find other Pez collectors.

eBay pioneered the online auction format, and many others websites have followed, to varying degrees of success. Some of the other sites compete directly with eBay’s auctions, such as Yahoo Auctions, uBid and ePier. Others are more specialized in certain areas, such as coins or cars.

Online Auctions Have Evolved Into Far More Than Just Auction Sites

As more and more people buy and sell on internet auctions, these websites have added many new features. eBay has its own marketplace called eBay Stores. Many large companies have opened an eBay Store on the site, including Disney, Sony and Dell Computers.

eBay, and some of the other auction sites like Yahoo, have international sites set up such as eBay Canada and eBay Australia. These auction websites cater to the specific country in things such as language, news and listing currency.

Many people have started their own eBay business. According to eBay, there are over 400,000 sellers who make a full-time living from online auctions. The net auction has changed the way people shop as well. Almost any item you want is available through an auction on eBay, so it is much easier to comparison shop and get an idea of price.

In spite of all the things available on the website, it’s still collectibles eBay is known for. The online auction format has changed the collectible industry considerably. Anyone can log onto eBay and check the current value of whatever it is they collect. It has leveled the playing field considerably for collectors, both novice and experienced.

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