32 Super Interesting Facts About eBay

The world’s largest marketplace, eBay provides a platform through which purchasing and selling can be done with just a few clicks. The most amazing part is that one can purchase from a wide range of products, which includes not just fancy items but also the weirdest of the lot.

Along with the amazing product range at eBay, it is a fabulous auction platform. Read on to know about 32 super interesting facts about eBay.

1. EchoBay, not eBay: Founder Pierre Omidyar wanted to name his company EchoBay. But with the name already taken by a Canadian company, he had to choose the name eBay.
2. The first product sold: The first product sold on eBay was a broken laser pointer. It was priced at $14.83 and was purchased by a person who collected broken laser pointers.
3. The personal touch in the first transaction: The first product sold on eBay was a broken laser pointer. Considering the fact that the item was broken, Omidyar personally mailed the buyer to ensure that he was aware that the pointer that he was purchasing was broken.
4. Building names reflect categories: At eBay headquarters in San Jose, the names of the buildings indicate the categories available at eBay.
5. Per day transactions: eBay witnesses 2 billion transactions each day. This company is indeed a hub for the purchase and sales of products.
6. The most searched product on eBay: The most searched product in eBay is an iPhone.
7. Most expensive product sold was valued at $168 million: Russian billionaire, Roman Abramovich bought a Frank Mulder-designed yacht at eBay for a whopping $168 million.
8. Second most expensive item sold: The private jets of Tyler Jet’s Gulfstream II were sold at $4.9 million, making it the second most expensive item sold on eBay.
9. Most expensive item sold through mobile: A PA-46-310P Malibu airplane is the most expensive item that was sold on eBay through a mobile transaction. The aircraft was sold for $265,000.
10. Billionaire at 31: eBay founder Pierre Omidyar founded the company in 1995 and it was just within 3 years, when he was 31 years old, he became a billionaire!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDE4aAVSF7Q
11. Biggest buyer on eBay: The biggest buyer at eBay is Britain, which tops the per capita purchase.
12. Tons of paintings sold: An immense number of paintings, which include renowned painters like Picasso, Dali, Banksy, and Warhol have been sold at eBay. The number is so high that Paris’ Louvre can be filled more than 45 times!
13. The most bought sneaker brand on eBay: Nike Air Jordans, which bears the hallmark of Michael Jordan is the most bought sneaker.
14. Sister for auction: British singer James Hillier Blount auctioned his sister on eBay! Well, he wanted to help his sister to find a possible solution for traveling to Ireland at the a very short notice.
15. Tracing the copier: Justin Hawkins of “The Darkness” band wanted to trace the thief who copied their album. And in his pursuit, he purchased a leaked copy of his band’s album on eBay.
16. More new items purchased: Even though eBay is an auction site, most of the purchases made on eBay are for new products. More than 70% of the purchases account for new products purchases.
17. Town for sale: In 2012, the town of Buford was sold on eBay for $900,000. The sale was made in a record time of 11 minutes and the purchase of the this 10 acres town in Wyoming was made by two Vietnamese buyers.
18. Life for sale: In 2008, eBay saw a man selling his whole life on eBay for just $325,000!
19. California’s Bridgeville sold twice: eBay witnessed the sale of Bridgeville in California not once but twice!
20. List of bizarre items on sale is unending: The list of bizarre or weird stuff on sale on eBay is unending and amongst others it also includes a student selling her virginity, a alien preserved in a jar and a 10-year old selling her grandmother amongst others.
21. Owner of multiple companies – eBay expanded its business to include companies like StubHub, PayPal, Shopping.com, and Half.com.
22. Acquisition of Skype: In 2005, eBay acquired Skype for $2.6 billion and later sold 65% of its stake to Silver Lake, Andreessen Horowitz, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board. However, in 2011 Skype was bought by Microsoft.
23. Change in background color was disliked by its users: eBay changed its background color from yellow to white. But this change was disliked by the users and thus the company was forced to change it once again to suit its customer’s preference.
24. Only tangibles: eBay does not allow the listing of products that do not have a physical existence. But, the list of prohibited items also includes things like drugs, firearms, and lottery tickets to name a few.
25. Discovery of new species: A new species of sea urchin was discovered on the eBay platform. This was when someone listed the newly found sea urchin for sale.
26. Best time to make a sale: The time span between 6:30-10:30 p.m. is the best for selling on eBay as during this time most people are relaxing and making actual purchasing decisions while browsing through eBay.
27. Seller ratings introduced: In the year 2008, eBay introduced seller rating. This allows buyers to rate the sellers with a score of 1 to 5 in four categories.
28. Co-branded boxes to its members at zero cost: Members of eBay are offered co-branded boxes at zero cost through the United States Postal Service.
29. Bidding on recipes: A section on eBay allows the buyers to place bids on recipes.
30. eBay allows donations: eBay sellers who wish to donate a part of their earnings can do so through MissionFish.
31. Huge seller and buyer base: eBay has a huge base of buyers and sellers, which includes 157 million buyers and 25 million sellers and it is growing each day.
32. Pets for adoption: People looking to adopt pets can look through the local listing to find a pet of their choice.