What eBay has Done For The E-commerce Business?
CITN120-Introduction to Networking

If you’re a consumer looking to buy or sell an item or maybe catch a fantastic bargain, you have probably heard of eBay. The company’s founder Pierre Omidyar started his journey on September 3, 1995, as a simple home page and a broken laser pointer and created something that had never been done before. Pierre simply intended the listing on his web page of a broken laser pointer to be a test more than a serious offer to sell at auction. He was shocked when he received a response, “I’m a collector of broken laser pointers,” and sold the item for $14.83. When Pierre received this answer back he knew that he had created something big and transitioned from one of commerce, buying and selling things, to one of e-commerce, connecting people around the world together over the internet.
In 1996 Pierre and his hand picked business team set out with their vision, which was to create the first online auction website for consumers to buy and sell their items. Since the start up, eBay has become the market leader and pioneer in the on-line auction industry and its brand name has become synonymous with e-commerce. eBay doesn’t actually sell any goods itself, it is simply a meeting place where the merchandise is sold and delivered by third party sellers that are not employed in any way by eBay. This unique e-commerce business gives sellers a place to reach buyers, and gives buyers access to the world’s largest collection of new or used things for sale. With eBay being the first to offer an on-line service, a broad range of products, and the global reach, they have had explosive rapid growth consistently over the years, making eBay the world’s leader of an online marketplace for the sale of goods and services by a diverse community of individuals and businesses.
What makes eBay so unique is