Editing EBay (section)

===1990s===
eBay was founded as AuctionWeb in [[California]] on September 3, 1995, by French-born [[Iranian-American]] computer programmer [[Pierre Omidyar]] as a hobby to make some extra money.<ref name=scale>{{cite magazine |url=https://time.com/4013672/ebay-founded-story/ |title=The Small-Scale Story Behind eBay's Big Bucks |first=LILY |last=ROTHMAN |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=September 3, 2015 |access-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-date=December 21, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231221023945/https://time.com/4013672/ebay-founded-story/ |url-status=live }}</ref> One of the first items sold on AuctionWeb was a broken [[laser pointer]] for $14.83. Astonished, Omidyar contacted the winning bidder to ask if he understood that the laser pointer was broken; the buyer explained: "I'm a collector of broken laser pointers."<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidseideman/2014/05/20/part-2-how-to-hit-a-home-run-selling-on-ebay/ |title=Eight Tips From The Pros For Selling On eBay |first=David |last=Seideman |work=[[Forbes]] |date=May 20, 2014 |url-access=limited |access-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-date=December 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208072301/https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidseideman/2014/05/20/part-2-how-to-hit-a-home-run-selling-on-ebay/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In February 1996, Omidyar's [[internet service provider]] informed him that he would need to upgrade to a business account due to the high [[web traffic]] of his website. The monthly price increase from $30 to $250 prompted Omidyar to start charging eBay users and also obtain support from his mothers family (his grandfather, General [[Mahmud Mir-Djalali]] was the "father" of [[Iran]]'s Defense Industries).{{sfn|Alirezaijan|2025|p=186-188}} The website made $1,000 in its first month, which was more than it cost to run, and $2,500 in its second month.<ref name=scale/> Chris Agarpao was eBay's first employee; he processed mailed check payments.<ref name=streethistory>{{Cite news |url=https://www.thestreet.com/markets/history-of-ebay |title=History of eBay: Facts and Timeline |first=Brian |last=O'Connell |work=[[TheStreet.com]] |date=July 16, 2021 |access-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-date=January 14, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240114145228/https://www.thestreet.com/markets/history-of-ebay |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Jeffrey Skoll]] was hired as the first president of the company in early 1996.<ref name=streethistory/> In November 1996, the company launched online auctions for airline seats, hotel rooms, cruise berths and other travel-related products in partnership with Electronic Travel Auctions. By that time, the company had hosted more than 200,000 auctions since its founding 14 months earlier.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/airline-tickets-sold-in-net-auction/ |title=Airline tickets sold in Net auction |first=Jeff |last=Pelline |work=[[CNET]] |date=November 4, 1996 |access-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-date=December 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208120530/https://www.cnet.com/tech/services-and-software/airline-tickets-sold-in-net-auction/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The company changed the name of its service from AuctionWeb to eBay in September 1997, after Echo Bay Technology Group, Omidyar's consulting firm. The echobay.com [[domain name]] was already registered by [[Echo Bay Mines]], a gold mining company, so Omidyar shortened it to eBay.com. In 1997, the company received $6.7 million in [[venture capital]] funding from [[Benchmark (venture capital firm)|Benchmark]].<ref name=history/>

The frequently repeated story that eBay was founded to help Omidyar's fiancée trade [[Pez]] candy dispensers was fabricated in 1997 by [[public relations]] manager [[Mary Lou Song]] to give the media a [[human-interest story]] and to generate publicity with toy collectors.<ref name=streethistory/> The most purchased and sold items on the website were [[Beanie Babies]], the most difficult toys to find in retail stores, accounting for 10% of all listings in 1997. [[Ty (company)|Ty]], the manufacturer, had set up a website whereby people could trade used Beanie Babies. However, it was overwhelmed with unsortable listings. With a user-friendly interface, eBay became popular with collectors.<ref>{{cite news |title=Lessons from the Great Beanie Babies Crash |url=https://fortune.com/2015/03/11/beanie-babies-failure-lessons/ |work=[[Fortune (magazine)|Fortune]] |first=Anne |last=Vandermey |date=March 11, 2015 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=February 13, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160213003204/http://fortune.com/2015/03/11/beanie-babies-failure-lessons/ |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Meg Whitman]] was appointed president and [[CEO]] in March 1998. At the time, the company had 30 employees, 500,000 users, and revenues of $4.7 million in the United States.<ref name="history">{{cite news |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/8451898/The-history-of-eBay.html |title=The history of eBay: How the internet auctioneer rose to the top |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=April 15, 2011 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=November 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201122162050/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/8451898/The-history-of-eBay.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In July 1998, eBay acquired Jump, the developer and operator of [[Up4Sale]], an advertising-supported auction website which at the time had 27,000 separate auctions and 50,000 registered members.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/ebay-acquires-jump/ |title=eBay acquires Jump |work=[[CNET]] |date=July 16, 1998 |access-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-date=December 8, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231208151905/https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/ebay-acquires-jump/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:EBay former logo.svg|right|thumb|Former eBay logo (1999–2012)]]
In September 1998, during the [[dot-com bubble]], eBay became a [[public company]] via an [[initial public offering]] led by CFO [[Gary F. Bengier]], opening on [[NASDAQ]] under the stock ticker EBAY.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB905983883227629000 |title=On-Line Auctions Help Keep eBay's IPO Outlook Strong |first=George |last=Anders |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |date=September 17, 1998 |url-access=subscription |access-date=February 26, 2024 |archive-date=December 9, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231209001552/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB905983883227629000 |url-status=live }}</ref> Upon the initial public offering, which was priced at $18 per share and closed for trading on its first day at $53 per share, both Omidyar and Skoll became billionaires.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/ebay-roars-into-public-trading/ |title=eBay roars into public trading |first=Dawn |last=Kawamoto |work=[[CNET]] |archive-date=January 10, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150110091731/http://news.cnet.com/eBay-roars-into-public-trading/2100-1001_3-215908.html |url-status=live}}</ref> In the risk factors section of the [[annual report]] filed with the [[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission]] in 1998, Omidyar noted eBay's dependence on the continued strength of the Beanie Babies market.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2004-12-05/pierre-m-dot-omidyar-the-web-for-the-people |title=Pierre M. Omidyar: The Web For The People |work=[[Bloomberg BusinessWeek]] |date=December 5, 2004 |url-access=subscription |archive-date=August 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200827205957/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2004-12-05/pierre-m-dot-omidyar-the-web-for-the-people |url-status=live}}</ref>