Internet Strategy Paper
eBay, Inc.
EBAY INC.
eBay, the online auction web site, was founded in San Jose, California on September 3, 1995, by computer programmer Pierre Omidyar as AuctionWeb. The very first item sold on eBay was a broken laser pointer for $14.83. Chris Agarpao was hired as eBay's first employee and Jeff Skoll was hired as the first president of the company in 1996. In November 1996, eBay entered into its first third-party licensing deal with a company called Electronic Travel Auction to use SmartMarket Technology to sell plane tickets and other travel products. The company officially changed the name of its service from AuctionWeb to eBay in September 1997. They went public in 1998, and both Omidyar and Skoll became instant billionaires.
eBay Inc. is a company that is built on commerce, trust, and opportunity. “eBay brings together millions of people every day on a local, national and international basis through an array of websites that focus on commerce, payments, and communications (eBay.com).” The eBay Marketplace creates a powerful online platform for the sale of goods and services by a community of individuals and small businesses. On any given day, millions of collectibles, appliances, computers, furniture, equipment, vehicles, and other miscellaneous items are listed and available through auction-style and fixed priced trading. With millions of buyers and sellers worldwide, eBay offers localized sites all over the world. They have sites in Europe, North America, and Asia.
eBay is constantly acquiring new innovative businesses that keep them number one among other online businesses. In recent years they have acquired Paypal, Skype, Shopping. ...