eBay’s Rise and… Continued Rise

Back in the 1990′s, a man by the name of Pierre Omidyar, who had a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science, received a complaint from his then girlfriend (now wife) — a collector of Pez dispensers — that there wasn’t any easy way for her to connect with other collectors for trading. Pierre, in his efforts to sooth his girlfriend’s suffering, built the precursor to what would become the world’s largest online auction.

Though the story is quite plausible, it has since been revealed that the story is more marketing ploy that reality. But just how much of it is true and how much is marketing spin is a bit of a moot point. The point is that Pierre’s program was the catalyst that would eventually change the world of ecommerce 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.

Many sellers followed, initially being allowed to list items for free. When the site grew beyond Pierre’s ability to manage it, he began charging a dime per listing hoping it would stunt the site’s growth and give him some breathing room. But when the dimes started rolling in, it was time to get serious.

Eventually the time to get some serious brains behind the brawn came. Jeff Skoll, a Stanford MBA, was brought on board in 1996. Later, Jim “Griff” Griffith, a struggling artist and regular helper at the user-supported AuctionWeb, received a call from Pierre and Jeff with an offer to become eBay’s first customer support employee. That call, Jim would later recall, probably saved his life as he was in the midst of contemplating suicide when his phone rang.

By this time, the company had changed their name to eBay. Experienced Hasbro executive Meg Whitman was offered the job of CEO, which she took. Under her leadership, eBay exploded onto the scene. This explosive growth lead to both millionaires and billionaires as eBay stock rose through the roof.

But early employees with great stock options weren’t the only benefactors. eBay would eventually support thousands of entrepreneurs who utilized the site to build online auction empires, some of which were raking in millions of dollars each year.

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.

Stuart Lisonbee is a former eBay employee and PowerSeller. His free eBay eBook, Secrets of an eBay PowerSeller, helps entrepreneurs make money on eBay by teaching the strategies he used to sell over 10,000 items in 18 months using wholesalers and dropshippers.

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