Fifteen Years Of Ebay: How It All Began

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Pierre Omidyar, who recently graduated with a degree in Computer Science and had started up his own company, was chatting with his girlfriend, a collector of Pez candy dispensers, about the difficulty of finding fellow Pez dispenser collectors she could trade with. Pierre, in his wisdom, got to work programming an online trading post. What he built would eventually evolve into eBay, the world's first online auction.

Or, at least, that's the corporate line the marketing boys came up with. It does make for a great story, and chances are there is a lot of truth to it, although certainly with a marketing twist. However, why Pierre started the online auction revolution isn't important. What's important is that it changed the World Wide Web, and the world, forever.

In 1995 Pierre wrote auction software, which he called AuctionWeb, and put it up on the web. He listed a broken laser pointer as a test of his newly formed program. Astonishingly, the laser pointer sold for nearly $15.

Pierre never saw it coming. Sellers initially were given free access until supporting the community became so overwhelming, Pierre had the bright idea to start charging a dime for each listing in an attempt to cut down on the number of sellers. His plan backfired and the toddler auction site continued to grow.

It was time to bring on some serious talent. Stanford man Jeff Skoll was called upon to help manage the exponentially growing business, now called eBay. Later on, a suicidal Jim Griffith -- an active participant of AuctionWeb's, and later eBay's, member-run support boards -- was brought on as the first customer support representative. Jim would later recall that the phone call he received from Jeff and Pierre literally saved his life.

AuctionWeb would later become eBay (which some say is a reference to Echo Bay, the name of Pierre's consulting firm at the time) and Harvard MBA and former Hasbro executive Meg Whitman would soon join the rapidly growing ship. Under Meg Whitman's leadership, eBay's growth was exponential. Early employees, thanks to stock options, became millionaires while executives became billionaires.

Employees and executives weren't the only ones making millions off of eBay though. Savvy entrepreneurs stormed the online auction by pitching their wares to an ever-increasing buyer base that was absolutely hungry for the products they offered. eBay's platform would eventually support tens of thousands work-at-home business owners.

As with all things successful, several companies have tried to emulate eBay's incredible story of prosperity, with most of them falling by the wayside. Through it all, eBay remains the largest and most successful online auction, and still the #1 platform for beginning "netpreneurs" to get their start.

About the Author:
Striving to help others enjoy success, Stuart Lisonbee helps entrepreneurs make money on eBay by exposing the tips and tricks of eBay's PowerSellers, including the revealing of wholesalers and dropshippers.



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


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