Interesting Facts About eBay Which Will Surprise You

In the world of e-commerce, eBay is one of the most trusted names, everyone believes. The American multinational e-commerce company, founded in 1995 is eBay. It is located in San Jose, California. This multinational e-commerce giant was founded by the half Iranian and half American computer programmer, named Pierre Omidyar. He launched the company on September 3, 1995.

And later with the hard work and eminent success, it became a notable success story. Before knowing some surprising facts about eBay, let's have a look at its highlights.

Ebay - It all started in 1995
Ebay - It is the British’s Favorite
Ebay - First Product sold was a Broken Printer
Ebay - Started with a Yellow Interface
Ebay - First thing sold in the UK
Ebay - A Feedback Score of 1 Million
Ebay - NASA Bought Machinery
Ebay - The Most Expensive item sold is a Yacht
Ebay - The Naming
Ebay - A Town for Sale
Ebay - Some Crazy Items Sold
Ebay - A Hat for a Special Cause
Ebay - Discovered a New Life
Ebay - No limit to sale at once
Ebay - An Auctioneer’s Paradise
Conclusion
FAQs

However, everyone might be aware of this giant e-commerce site, but a few are only the ones who know some interesting facts about eBay. So, these are some interesting and exciting facts about eBay.

Ebay - It all started in 1995

As they say, everything starts from one point only, it also happened with eBay. eBay was established on 3rd September 1995, as the dream project of a 28-year-old computer programmer. That 28-year-old guy, named Pierre Omidyar. It was when he was working aside his normal job, on an online auction website, for fun. But while designing code for the website, he noticed it started getting great traffic and then he decided to launch it as a business. Later it got renamed eBay.

Ebay - It is the British’s Favorite

Across the whole world, eBay is used in innumerable ways. But it's the UK where they find this e-commerce site much more interesting. In a survey, it was claimed that around 19 million Brits use it in their day-to-day life. It may be about selling old items, or about buying new products. They prefer to eBay the most for their beneficiaries.

Ebay - First Product sold was a Broken Printer

Every first thing holds its credit. And, like always it is remembered for. The first thing that got sold on eBay was a broken laser printer. For testing purposes, the company owner himself thought of selling the broken laser printer laying around his house. At first, for the first week, it didn’t sell, with a base price of 1 dollar. But during the second week, it got sold for a bidding price of 14.83 dollars.

Ebay - Started with a Yellow Interface

Not everyone would have noticed, but it was a dark and glaring yellow color background used for the interface. It was during the starting days, and it was the original design. But eventually, it changed with time and became white. But later on, with the complaints of the customers, it again got changed to its previous color. But the company changed the color of the interface slowly and subtly with time, which the customers didn’t notice.

Ebay - First thing sold in the UK

As it is mentioned, the British use eBay a lot. And the first item sold in the UK was a Compact Disc. This product was of a German rock band by The Scorpions. Although it was not the original piece, it was a copy of their previous release named “You & I”. This album was released in 1996.

Ebay - A Feedback Score of 1 Million

On November 13, 2008, Jack Sheng became the first person among the multiple ones, to get 1 million feedbacks. It was after 8 years of selling that he achieved this height. Considering the hard work and success, eBay also organized a special shooting star icon. And, then Jack managed to double the number only within 18 months.

Ebay - NASA Bought Machinery

It may sound a little weird and unbelievable, but yes, Nasa even used eBay. The one thing that fascinated Nasa was, one can find everything and anything on eBay. Hence, when they needed some second-hand machinery replacement products, they turned to eBay. And, within no time they got fruitful results.

Ebay - The Most Expensive item sold is a Yacht

A 405 foot, which is 123.4 meters, superyacht designed by Frank Mulder, was the most expensive item sold on eBay. It got sold for a whopping amount of 170 million dollars. Before this, some other items also reached millions, but never got this big. The lucky winner of this bid was a Russian billionaire named, Roman Abramovich.

Ebay - The Naming

At first, it was not the name eBay for this giant multinational company. Well, it may sound a little strange, but this is the truth. Auction Web was the first name given to this site. But later the founder decided to change the name, hence he opted for the name Echo Bay, but this name was already taken. Hence, he shortened it and settled for eBay.

Ebay - A Town for Sale

Interestingly, a town named Bridgeville, addressed at California, was auctioned for sale, twice on this commercial site. In 2002, it almost got sold for 1.77 million dollars, while the buyer backed out at the last minute. But again in 2006, it was finally sold for an amount of 7 million dollars. The landowner got a profit of three cattle, eight houses, and a minor post office.

Ebay - Some Crazy Items Sold

This is one of the coolest facts about eBay that it sells literally everything one can ever want. Some crazy items ever sold on eBay include a grilled cheese sandwich portrait which was believed to be of the Virgin Mary. It also includes the hair of Justin Bieber and Willian Shatner’s kidney stone.

Ebay - A Hat for a Special Cause

To raise funds for UNICEF and children suffering in crises, eBay auctioned the special hat worn by Princess Beatrice. And, positively it also summed up a total amount of 80000 Euros. Then, the price was submitted for further well-being.

Ebay - Discovered a New Life

It is a little strange and unbelievable, but a new life was discovered on eBay. In the year 2006, when someone posted something in the form of a rare sea urchin. The natural history museum noticed this strange and undiscovered species. And later it was named Coelopleurus Exquistius.

Ebay - No limit to sale at once

To date, it is still unclear how many items can be posted at a time. But for the record, it is 800 million, collectively. The simplest selling process and the easily accessible interface make it one of the most used e-commerce sites for a reason.

Ebay - An Auctioneer’s Paradise

As mentioned earlier, it is the auction process that fascinates a lot about eBay. The bidding wars can be performed by anyone and at any point of time, with just a finger-tip, comforting on the couch. Hence, this would always remain as the virtual auctioneer’s paradise.

Conclusion

Hence, it is the convenience and the satisfaction of the customers which has made the company so successful and popular over years. Therefore, one must obviously drop an eye whenever he or she gets some spare time on this site. And find out what this virtual auction house contains in its store.

FAQs

When was eBay established?

eBay was established on 3rd September 1995.

What was the first item sold in the UK?

The first item sold by eBay in the UK was a Compact Disc.

What is the earlier name of eBay?

The earlier name of eBay is Auction Web.

What is special about eBay?

eBay allows to list new or used items for auction for a very low fee. This is the uniqueness of eBay.

Why is it called eBay?

It is called so after the name Echo Bay Technology Group, Omidyar's consulting firm.