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| eBay |
| Introduction |
| eBay Inc. is an American concern founded in San Jose, California, USA way back on September 3rd, 1995. It is an Internet company that manages the eBay.com. eBay.com is an online shopping and auction website. It is a first of its kind where people and businesses purchase and put goods and services up for sale worldwide. Along with the original US Web site, eBay has established local Web sites in thirty other countries. The eBay Inc. also owns Online Auction Hosting, Electronic Commerce, PayPal, Skype, StubHub, and some of the well-known Internet businesses. |
| Origin and History |
| The eBay Inc. was founded as an online auction website was founded by a French-born Iranian computer programmer, Pierre Omidyar. Then it was named the “AuctionWeb” and was a part of a bigger private site that included a lot of other things along with Omidyar's own tongue-in-cheek tribute to the famous Ebola virus. In 1997, the company received a whopping $5 million funds from the venture capital firm called Benchmark Capital. |
| The very first item to be sold on eBay was a broken laser pointer for $14.83. Omidyar was quite surprised and got hold of the winning bidder to ask if he understood that the laser pointer was broken. In the responding email, the buyer explained: "I'm a collector of broken laser pointers." |
| eBay went public on September 21, 1998, and both Omidyar and hi partner Skoll became billionaires instantaneously. The company further went on to purchase PayPal on October 14, 2002. |
International Presence:
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eBay is a busy place. Everyday billions of porcelains, decor, appliances, computers, furnishings, equipments, vehicles and other assorted items are scheduled, purchased and sold at the eBay. |
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In 2005, eBay launched its Business and Industrial category, breaking into the industrial surplus business. |
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You will find a host of items on the eBay. Some are valuable and seldom found while others are non-usable gizmos. There are millions of eager bidders all around the globe to buy them. At eBay, just anything can be offered for sale. The only thing to be kept in mind is, whatever you sell, it should not be forbidden by the Prohibited and Restricted Items Policy at the eBay. |
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You can also sell intangibles at eBay. Well-known companies offer their software products and services on eBay through competitive auctions and fixed-price storefronts. |
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Separate eBay sites such as eBay US and eBay UK allow the users to trade using the local currency. |
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Software developers can create applications that integrate eBay through the eBay API by joining the eBay Developers Program. |
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| Auction Types |
| eBay offers three types of auctions: |
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Auction-style listings: This method consents to the seller to present one or more objects for sale for a specific period. Within this type of auction the seller can establish a reserve price. |
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Fixed Price format: This method allows the seller to present one or more objects for sale at a “Buy It Now” price. Buyers agree to pay that price win the auction right away without presenting a bid. |
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The Dutch Auctions: This method allows the seller to bid two or more matching items in the same auction. Bidders can bid for any number from one item up to the total number offered. |
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| Bidding |
For auction-style listings, the initial bid have to be at least the sum of the minimum bid set by the seller. Despite the amount the first bidder in fact bids, until a second bid is ended. Thereon eBay displays the auction's least bid as the present high bid.
After the initial bid is made, each succeeding bid is to be equal to at least the current highest bid displayed, plus one bidding increment. The bidding increment is recognized by eBay based on the size of the current highest displayed bid. For example, when the current highest bid is less than or equal to $0.99, the bidding increment is $0.05; when the current highest bid is at least $1.00 but less than or equal to $4.99, it is $0.25.
Despite the amount each successive bidder calls, eBay displays the lesser of the bidder's actual bid and the amount equal to the previous peak bidder's actual bid, plus one bidding increment. |
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