eBay Inc is an American online company that has brought up one of the largest online shopping and auction platforms the world has ever known – the eBay. As many people take advantage of the internet to buy and sell all over the world, eBay has become one of the biggest facilitators of the online business transaction today. On eBay marketplace, different kind of goods and services can be found.
eBay is the brainchild of a San Jose resident, Pierre Omidyar, and the foundation of what would soon become one of the most leading online marketplaces was laid on September 4th, 1995. It was originally planned to be an online marketplace where interested individuals could sell goods or services.
eBay was originally known as Auctionweb, and formed a small part of Omidyar’s personal site. It is interesting to note that the first item to be successfully sold on the site was a damaged laser pointer, which was sold for around $14 following a small bidding process. Encouraged by the interest generated by this item, Omidyar soon realized that if he could sell a damaged laser pointer, then anything could be sold.
In 1996, Jeff Skoll became the company’s first president of eBay and is now also attributed as the co-founder of the company. In just two years after the creation of Auctionweb, the company officially changed its name to eBay. Initially, the online auction site was owned by Omidyar’s consulting firm, Echo Bay Technology Group, and Omidyar wished to use the name EchoBay.com. But, that was not to be because the domain was already taken by Echo Bay Mines. Eventually, the shortened version, eBay.com was settled for.
Ever since its establishment, eBay has continued to grow, and its revenue has doubled. It has also purchased and invested in several online auction sites and auction houses with the sole aim of gaining a greater share of the market outside of the US.
One of the major attractions of eBay is Black Friday which many buyers always look forward to every year to buy goods at a considerable discount. On this day, sellers on the platform usually witness high sales than any other day of the year. Of course, the main beneficiary is eBay itself as the high sales bring many profits to the company.
Buyers and sellers look forward to Black Friday because it affords them an opportunity to buy more and save more.