Ebay: from strength to strength
October 22, 2004The BBC carries an interesting analysis of EBay, looking at the company growth, marketing strengths, and past weaknesses, and reveals a company that moves from strengthn to strength and posting profits that prove it.
A short history is covered:
1995 Set up in by Pierre Omidyar, although it is a myth that he did so because his wife, an avid Pez sweet dispenser collector, wanted to trade with other collectors over the net
1995 Mr Omidyar sells his first item - his own broken laser pointer - for $14
1997 Meg Whitman joins eBay
1999 Sets up in the UK, Germany
1999 Site crashes for 22 hours
2000 Sets up in Japan (pulls out 5 months later)
2001 Overtakes Amazon as the most visited e-commerce site
2001 Moves into China
2002 Buys online payment service PayPal
2002 Pulls out of Japan
2004 moves into South Korea and India, giving it a foothold in 29 international markets
The article lists some of the more eclectic items sold online via Ebay:
Koopa the turtle makes art for his US owner to sell on eBay, his paintings now hang in 36 US states and as far afield as Australia Eurotunnel drill - ��39,999 Gulf Stream jet - $4.9m (��2.57m)- the most expensive item sold so far Prehistoric skeleton of Max the mammoth - ��61,000 Lady Thatcher’s handbag - ��103,000 Tesco carrier bag - ��4.50