In September 1995, AuctionWeb was born. The first auction was conducted on Labor Day weekend, and within a few weeks, buyers and sellers began flocking to the service. Founded by Pierre Omidyar as "AuctionWeb", part of a larger personal site that included, among other things, Omidyar's own tribute to the Ebola virus.

Omidyar incorporated the enterprise; the small fee he collected on each sale financed the expansion of the site. The revenue soon outstripped his salary at General Magic and Omidyar decided to dedicate his full attention to his new enterprise. Business expanded through word of mouth, and Auction Web added a Feedback Forum, allowing buyers and sellers to rate each other for honesty and reliability.

The site belonged to Echo Bay Technology Group, Omidyar's consulting firm. He had tried to register the domain name "EchoBay.com" but found it already taken, so he shortened it to his second choice, "eBay.com". Most people believe that the site was originally marketed to investors as a place to sell and trade PEZ dispensers but it was designed to sell "Anything and Everything" like collectible items.

Omidyar changed the company's name to eBay in 1997 and began to advertise the service aggressively. By the middle of that year, eBay was hosting nearly 800,000 auctions a day. By the time eBay went public in 1998, the site had more than a million registered users. By the end of the year, the value of Omidyar's personal stake in the company was nearly $3 billion. Pierre Omidyar has served as Chairman of the Board since its incorporation. At first he also served as Chief Financial Officer, President and CEO, but he relinquished these positions one by one, the last when he hired former Hasbro executive Margaret Whitman to serve as CEO in 1998.

The first item sold on eBay (then AuctionWeb) was a broken laser pointer that sold for $14 dollars (more then the cost of a new one at the time.) I wonder if Pierre ever thought that he would be a mutli-millionaire when that first item sold?

Harvard Business School-trained Meg Whitman has served as eBay's president and CEO since March 1998. In terms of revenue growth, eBay is the fastest-growing company of all time and there is still lots of room for future growth.

eBay (NASDAQ: EBAY; http://www.ebay.com) is The World's Online Marketplace for the sale of goods and services by a diverse community of individuals and businesses. Today, the eBay community includes tens of millions of registered members from around the world. People spend more time on eBay than any other online site, making it the most popular shopping destination on the Internet. eBay is headquartered in San Jose, California and has a second location in Draper, Utah.

Business & Industrial
eBay Business brings together Vertical Industry Marketplaces, Business Technology, Wholesale, and Marketplace Services in one convenient location--everything a business needs to save money and build competitive advantage!

Automotive
With over $1.5 Billion in sales in 2002, jumping to $9.8 Billion by 2004, eBay Motors is the Internet's largest auction-style marketplace for buying and selling all things automotive. At any given time, eBay Motors has a wide variety of vehicles listed for sale, from Acuras to Volvos and all makes and models in-between. The site also features collector cars, motorcycles, as well as auto parts. eBay Motors provides end-to-end online services such as financing, inspections, escrow, auto insurance, vehicle shipping, title & registration, and a lemon check.

Art & Antiques
-Over 2,000 bids are placed on Antique and artwork every hour.

Jewelry
-Over 600 antique diamond jewelry pieces are sold every week. -Over 4,600 diamond pieces are sold every week. -Over 7,600 gold pieces are sold every week.

Travel
Travelers can receive a 40% discount on airline tickets, and over 1,000 unique B&B's, small inns, condo rentals, and 5000 cruises are available. Every day one of a kind vacations are sold on eBay such as a 9 day golfing cruise around Scotland, and playing on world famous golf courses.

Fashion
-Over 30,000 NEW and USED clothing, footwear, & accessory items are sold every day.

Collectibles for the Holidays
-Over 1,250 Department 56 villages and accessories are sold every day. -Over 3,000 Christmas items are sold every day. -Over 2,200 Hallmark ornaments are sold every day.

Toys
-Over 375 die-cast cars are sold every hour. -Over 100 Barbie dolls are sold every hour. -Over 54 radio control vehicles are sold every hour. -Over 200 action figures are sold every hour. -Over 250 games are sold every hour.

Crafts
-Over $38 million in crafts and needlecrafts supplies were sold last year. A craft item is sold every 9 seconds. A scrapbook item is sold every minute.

Photography
-Over $190 million in photography items sold last year.

Tickets
Tickets on eBay include everything from sporting events and concerts to theater and once in a lifetime experiences. A golf foursome with 2002 Master Champion Tiger Woods sold for $425,000.