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eBay facts for kids
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Formerly
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AuctionWeb (1995–1997) |
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| Traded as |
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| Industry | E-commerce |
| Founded | September 3, 1995 |
| Founder | Pierre Omidyar |
| Headquarters | San Jose, California, U.S. |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
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Key people
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| Services | Online shopping |
| Revenue |  US$10.11 billion (2023) |
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Operating income
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 US$1.941 billion (2023) |
| US$2.767 billion (2023) |
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| Total assets | US$21.62 billion (2023) |
| Total equity | US$6.396 billion (2023) |
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Number of employees
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c. 12,300 (2023) |
| Subsidiaries | Qoo10 |
eBay office in Toronto, Canada
eBay Inc. is a big American company that helps people buy and sell things online. It's like a huge online marketplace where you can find almost anything! eBay is based in San Jose, California.
You can buy and sell items through online auctions or by using the "Buy It Now" option for a set price. eBay charges sellers a small fee when their items sell. Pierre Omidyar started eBay in September 1995.
Millions of people around the world use eBay. In 2022, about 134 million active buyers used the site. They bought and sold items worth $74 billion!
Anyone can use eBay, whether you're an individual, a company, or even a government. After each sale, buyers and sellers can rate each other. This helps everyone know who is trustworthy. You can access eBay through its website or mobile apps.
Contents
How eBay Started and Grew
Pierre Omidyar, the person who started eBay
The Early Days: 1990s
eBay began as "AuctionWeb" on September 3, 1995. Pierre Omidyar, a computer programmer, started it as a fun side project. One of the first things sold was a broken laser pointer for $14.83! Pierre was surprised and asked the buyer if they knew it was broken. The buyer said, "I'm a collector of broken laser pointers."
In 1996, AuctionWeb became so popular that Pierre's internet provider told him he needed a more expensive business account. This made Pierre decide to start charging users. In its first month of charging, the website made $1,000, which was more than it cost to run!
The company changed its name from AuctionWeb to eBay in September 1997. The name came from Pierre's consulting firm, Echo Bay Technology Group. However, the website "echobay.com" was already taken by a gold mining company. So, Pierre shortened it to eBay.com.
A popular story said that eBay was started so Pierre's fiancée could trade Pez candy dispensers. But this story was actually made up by a public relations manager in 1997 to get more attention for the company.
One of the most popular items sold on eBay in the early days were Beanie Babies. These were hard-to-find toys. eBay's easy-to-use website made it a favorite place for collectors to find them.
In March 1998, Meg Whitman became the CEO of eBay. At that time, eBay had 30 employees and 500,000 users. Later that year, eBay became a "public company." This means its shares could be bought and sold by anyone on the stock market. When this happened, Pierre Omidyar became a billionaire!
Growing Bigger: 2000s
eBay kept growing by buying other companies.
- In 2000, eBay bought Half.com, a website for selling books, music, and movies.
- In 2002, eBay bought iBazar, an online auction site in France.
- A big step was when eBay bought PayPal on October 3, 2002, for $1.4 billion. PayPal is a service that makes it easy to pay for things online.
eBay tried to enter the Chinese market in 2002 but later closed its Chinese site in 2007 because of strong competition.
In 2004, eBay bought a part of Craigslist, a popular website for local classified ads. In 2005, eBay launched Kijiji, another classified advertising website, in many countries. It also bought Gumtree, a similar website in the United Kingdom.
A big purchase in October 2005 was Skype Technologies for $2.6 billion. Skype is a service for making calls and video chats over the internet. However, eBay later sold most of its share in Skype in 2009 because it didn't fit well with eBay's main business.
In 2007, eBay bought StubHub, a website where people can buy and sell tickets for events.
In January 2008, Meg Whitman stepped down as CEO and John Donahoe took over.
eBay also built a new, eco-friendly building at its headquarters in San Jose, California. It uses many solar panels to get its energy. This helps reduce pollution.
Changes and New Ideas: 2010s
In 2011, eBay bought GSI Commerce, which helped other companies sell things online. It was later renamed eBay Enterprise.
In September 2012, eBay changed its logo to a newer, thinner design.
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1995–2012
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2012–present
eBay also started new shipping partnerships. For example, in 2012, it partnered with Pitney Bowes to make international shipping easier for sellers.
A big change happened in 2014 when eBay announced it would separate from PayPal. This meant PayPal became its own independent company in 2015.
eBay continued to buy and sell parts of other companies.
- In 2015, eBay sold its remaining part of Craigslist.
- In 2017, eBay partnered with Flipkart, a big online seller in India.
- In 2018, eBay acquired Qoo10, an e-commerce platform in Japan.
- eBay also started supporting Apple Pay for payments.
In 2019, Devin Wenig resigned as CEO, and Jamie Iannone became the new CEO in April 2020.
Recent Years: 2020s
In 2020, eBay sold its classifieds business to another company. This included websites like Gumtree.
In 2021, eBay sold its business in South Korea.
eBay has also been exploring new areas:
- In 2022, eBay bought KnownOrigin, a marketplace for non-fungible tokens (NFTs). NFTs are unique digital items.
- It also acquired TCGPlayer, a marketplace for collectible card games.
- In 2023, eBay bought Certiligo, a company that uses artificial intelligence to help identify and check fashion items.
In January 2024, eBay announced it would be reducing its workforce by 9%. This was to make sure the company stays strong and focused.
Giving Back: Charity Auctions
eBay makes it easy for sellers to donate part of their sales to charity. They even offer lower fees for these special charity auctions.
One famous charity auction on eBay was the "Power Lunch" with investor Warren Buffett. People would bid huge amounts of money to have lunch with him. All the money went to the Glide Foundation, which helps people in need. These lunches raised over $53 million!
Another example was when a letter from Senator Harry Reid and other senators was auctioned. It sold for over $2.1 million! This money went to the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation, which helps educate children whose parents died serving in the armed forces. The talk show host Rush Limbaugh matched the winning bid.
In 2022 alone, over $163 million was raised for charities through eBay's platform.
Images for kids
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eBay Express logo
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PayPal San Jose Headquarters
See also
In Spanish: EBay para niños
- List of acquisitions by eBay
- Shopping neutral
- Unusual eBay listings