EBay

History

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. One of the first items sold on AuctionWeb was a broken laser pointer for $14.83. 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."

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 obtain support from his mother's family (his grandfather, General Mahmud Mir-Djalali was the "father" of Iran's Defense Industries, with close relationships with Skoda Works and Fabrique Nationale Herstal). The website made $1,000 in its first month, which was more than it cost to run, and $2,500 in its second month.

Jeffrey Skoll was hired as the first president of the company in early 1996.

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.

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, the manufacturer, had set up a website whereby people could trade used Beanie Babies, but there was no way to sort the listings. Listing and purchasing from eBay became more popular with collectors.

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. 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.

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 at a price of $18 per share and closing on its first day at $53 per share. Upon the initial public offering, the company's market cap reached nearly $1.9 billion. 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.

2000s

In June 2000, eBay acquired Half.com for $312 million in stock. In 2000, eBay partnered with Escrow.com to handle escrow for purchases and sales of motor vehicles, later expanded to other transaction types. By year-end, it had 22.5 million registered users and 79.4 million auctions per quarter.

In January 2001, eBay acquired a majority stake in Internet Auction Co. Ltd, operator of the largest internet auction website in South Korea. In February 2002, eBay acquired iBazar, a French online auction site founded in 1998, for approximately $112 million in stock.

eBay entered the Chinese market in 2002, and in February, exited Japan due to competition from Yahoo! Japan. eBay began operations in Taiwan with the acquisition of NeoCom Technology for $9.5 million. In June 2006, eBay turned over its operations in Taiwan to a joint venture partner.

eBay acquired PayPal on October 3, 2002, for $1.4 billion. It phased out its Billpoint payment service in January 2003.

On May 28, 2003, in the case of eBay Inc. v. MercExchange, L.L.C., which had implications for the treatment of business method patents, a United States district court jury found eBay guilty of willful patent infringement and ordered the company to pay $35 million in damages after MercExchange accused eBay of infringing on three patents, one of which is used in eBay's "Buy It Now" feature. The decision was appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC). The CAFC affirmed the judgment of willful infringement, and reversed the lower court and granted a permanent injunction. eBay appealed the permanent injunction to the Supreme Court of the United States, which on May 15, 2006, found an injunction is not required nor automatic in this or any patent case where guilt has been established. The case was sent back to the Virginia district court for consideration of the injunction and a trial on another MercExchange patent.

In 2003, eBay sought to develop its e-commerce business in China, acquiring the country's leading online auction platform (EachNet) and reaching an 85% market share. Within four years, the development of Alibaba's Taobao resulted in eBay's market share in China decreasing to 7.7%. eBay shut down its Chinese site in 2007.

In August 2004, eBay acquired 25% of the classified advertising website Craigslist from former Craigslist executive Phillip Knowlton for $32 million. In December 2004, eBay acquired Rent.com for $415 million.

In March 2005, eBay launched Kijiji, a classified advertising website, in international markets. It launched in the United States in July 2007. In May 2005, eBay acquired Gumtree, a classified advertising website in the United Kingdom. In October 2005, eBay Inc. acquired Skype Technologies for $2.6 billion.

ProStores, formerly known as Kurant StoreSense, was acquired and renamed by eBay Inc. by the end of 2005. ProStores offered users simple wizard-driven websites, e-commerce capabilities, site design tools and e-business management. Smaller merchants could also manage the process of posting and selling products on eBay using the ProStores interface. It also offered inventory management, supplier communication and integration with Quickbooks and Dreamweaver. eBay announced on July 1, 2014, that support for the platform would end February 1, 2015.

In February 2006, Intuit launched a web-based version of ItsDeductible, a donation tracking service, using data from eBay to help users assign a market value to the items they donate.

In April 2006, eBay launched eBay Express, a site that was designed to work like a standard Internet shopping site, with fixed prices and no bidding involved. The website had 10 million items listed upon its launch. The site was shut down in October 2008.

In January 2007, eBay acquired StubHub, an online marketplace for ticket resale, for $310 million.

In January 2008, Meg Whitman resigned as president and CEO of eBay to enter politics, and was replaced with John Donahoe. Whitman remained on the board of directors and continued to advise Donahoe through 2008.

In April 2008, eBay sued Craigslist, claiming that in January 2008, Craigslist took actions that "unfairly diluted eBay's economic interest by more than 10%", causing eBay to lose its seat on the board of directors of Craigslist. Craigslist countersued in May 2008 alleging that eBay used its board seat to gain insider information about Craigslist that was used to compete against the company. In September 2010, Delaware Judge William B. Chandler III ruled that the actions of Craigslist were unlawful and that the actions taken by Craigslist founders Jim Buckmaster and Craig Newmark had "breached their fiduciary duty of loyalty", and restored eBay's stake in the company to 28.4% from a diluted level of 24.85%.

In May 2008, eBay announced the opening of a building on the company's North Campus in San Jose, California. The building, the first the company had built in its 13-year existence, used an array of 3,248 solar panels, spanning 60000 sqft, and providing 650 kilowatts of power, 15–18% of the company's total energy requirements at the time, reportedly reducing carbon dioxide usage by 37 million pounds over 30 years. The building also had an energy-efficient lighting and water system, and most waste was recycled.

In April 2009, eBay agreed to acquire a controlling stake in G-Market, a South Korean online retailer, for $413 million. In May 2009, eBay launched the Selling Manager Applications program (SM Apps). The program allows approved developers to integrate their applications directly into the eBay.com interface.

In November 2009, eBay sold a 70% stake in Skype to a consortium led by Silver Lake Partners and Marc Andreessen at a $2.75 billion valuation, while retaining a 30% minority ownership interest in Skype, after failing to integrate Skype into the company's online marketplace. Microsoft acquired the entire company for $8.5 billion in May 2011.

2010s

In June 2011, eBay acquired GSI Commerce for $2.4 billion. In June 2013, it was renamed eBay Enterprise. In May 2012, Primedia (now Rent Group), acquired Rent.com from eBay for approximately $415 million. In September 2012, eBay introduced a new logo using a thinner variation of the Univers typeface. It replaced the thicker Univers logo.

In October 2012, eBay launched an international shipping partnership with Pitney Bowes whereby a seller of an item to be shipped internationally can send the item to a Pitney Bowes facility in their home country, which then forwards it to the international buyer, taking care of all international shipping requirements. The company also launched a partnership with FedEx to offer discounted shipping options to sellers.

In November 2012, eBay was charged in the High-Tech Employee Antitrust Litigation, accused by the United States Department of Justice of entering into non-solicitation agreements with other technology companies involving highly skilled employees. The litigation was settled in May 2014, with eBay required to end anti-competitive practices.

On September 30, 2014, eBay announced it would spin off PayPal into a separate publicly traded company, a demand made nine months prior by activist hedge fund magnate Carl Icahn. The spinoff was completed on July 18, 2015.

In January 2015, eBay acquired Vivanuncios, a classified advertising website in Mexico. In June 2015, eBay sold its stake in Craigslist back to the company, ending the litigation. In August 2015, eBay sold a portion of its stake in Snapdeal. In September 2015, Propay and Skrill were eliminated as payment methods on the eBay website, citing low usage.

Flipkart and eBay entered into a strategic partnership in July 2017 under which eBay acquired a 5.44% stake in Flipkart in exchange for the contribution of its India business unit valued at $211 million and a $514 million cash investment in Flipkart. Flipkart launched a program to allow its sellers to sell to customers globally in partnership with eBay. eBay reported a gain of $167 million on the sale of its India operations. In May 2018, eBay sold its stake in Flipkart to Walmart and relaunched its operations in India. In August 2017, eBay shut down Half.com. In October 2017, eBay released image retrieval capability allowing users to find listings on the site that match an item depicted in a photo, using artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies.

On January 31, 2018, eBay announced that it would replace PayPal as its primary payments provider with Netherlands-based start-up Adyen, resulting in lower costs and more control of merchants. In May 2018, eBay acquired the Japanese e-commerce platform Qoo10 for $573 million. In July 2018, eBay announced support for Apple Pay as well as a partnership with Square for sellers to finance loans of up to $100,000. In September 2018, in response to the YouTube headquarters shooting, eBay announced plans to install a security fence around the perimeter of its San Jose headquarters to protect employees.

In March 2019, the company paid its first dividend following investor pressure to improve shareholder return. On July 31, 2019, the company acquired a 5.59% stake in Paytm Mall. In September 2019, facing pressure from activist shareholder Elliott Investment Management, Devin Wenig resigned as CEO. Scott Schenkel, senior vice president and chief financial officer since 2015, was appointed as the interim CEO. In November 2019, eBay agreed to sell StubHub to Viagogo for $4.05 billion in cash; the sale was completed in February 2020.

2020s

In April 2020, Jamie Iannone became the CEO of eBay. In June 2020, Fred D. Anderson and Thomas J. Tierney resigned from the board of directors of the company; both had been directors since 2003. In July 2020, eBay sold its classifieds business to Adevinta for $2.5 billion in cash and 540 million shares of Adevinta. To gain regulatory approval, Gumtree was further divested. eBay sold its shares in Adevinta in 2023, when that company was acquired by private equity firms.

In September 2020, Pierre Omidyar resigned from the board of directors, after resigning as chairman in 2015. In November 2021, eBay sold its South Korean business to Emart for $3 billion.

In May 2022, eBay acquired a stake in Funko and became the preferred secondary marketplace for Funko. In June 2022, the company acquired KnownOrigin, a marketplace for non-fungible tokens. In August 2022, the company acquired the myFitment group of companies, specializing in online sales of automotive and powersports parts and accessories. In October 2022, the company acquired TCGPlayer, a marketplace for collectible card games, for approximately $295 million.

In July 2023, the company acquired Certiligo, a provider of artificial intelligence–powered digital IDs and authentication for apparel and fashion goods.

In January 2024, the company announced plans to lay off 9% of its workforce after hiring outpaced growth projections.

Financial history

Philanthropy and charity auctions

Using MissionFish as an arbiter, eBay allows sellers to donate a portion of their auction proceeds to a charity of the seller's choice and charges discounted fees for charity auctions.

High-profile charity auctions facilitated via eBay include a charity lunch with investor Warren Buffett for 8 people at the Smith & Wollensky restaurant in New York City, with all of the proceeds going to the Glide Foundation. Auctions were held annually in 21 years between 2000 and 2022, with no auctions in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In total, auctions on eBay for lunch with Buffett raised $53.2 million for the Glide Foundation, with winning bids ranging from $2 million to as high as $19 million for the final auction in 2022. In May 2024, a charity auction for lunch with Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce, raised $200,000 plus an additional donation of $1.5 million for the Glide Foundation.

Also benefitting charity, a letter sent to Mark P. Mays, CEO of Clear Channel Communications by Senator Harry Reid and forty other Democratic senators, complaining about comments made by conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh, sold for $2,100,100, with all of the proceeds going to the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation, benefiting the education of children of men and women who have died serving in the armed forces. The winning bid was matched by Limbaugh.

In 2024, over $192 million was reportedly raised by eBay for Charity.

Stalking scandal

Main article: eBay stalking scandal

In June 2020, five employees, including executives, were terminated and charged with cyberstalking after they were accused of targeting Ina and David Steiner, the editors and publishers of EcommerceBytes, a newsletter that eBay executives viewed as critical of the company. In addition to sending harassing messages and doxing, the defendants "ordered anonymous and disturbing deliveries to the victims' home, including a preserved fetal pig, a bloody pig Halloween mask, a funeral wreath, a book on surviving the loss of a spouse, and pornography". The defendants also vandalized the couple's home in Natick, Massachusetts. The conspirators pleaded guilty and most were sentenced to prison terms. Wenig, the company's CEO at the time of the harassment campaign, who was frequently targeted by the newsletter, was found by investigators to not have any knowledge about the harassment activities and was not charged. He had left the company in September 2019 with a $57 million severance package. Steve Wymer, chief communication officer, who had ties with local politicians, was fired "for cause" for alleged involvement but was not charged and was hired by the local chapter of the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

Criticisms and controversies

Fraud

Fraud committed by sellers includes selling counterfeit merchandise / bootleg recordings, shill bidding (undisclosed vendor bidding that is used to artificially inflate the price of a certain item by either the seller under an alternate account or another person in collusion with the seller), receiving payment and not shipping merchandise, shipping items other than those described, giving a deliberately misleading description or photo, knowingly and deliberately shipping faulty merchandise, denying warranty exchange after pre-agreeing to return merchandise authorization of defective on arrival merchandise, knowingly fencing (selling stolen goods), offering nonexistent goods for sale (including goods that could not exist - e.g. devices with battery capacities far beyond that possible for the form factors of the listed items), misrepresenting the cost of shipping, using bulk shipping prices to knowingly mask much higher costing, individual return shipping, and using pseudo-accounts to make high nonpaying bids on similar items that competitors are selling. eBay has been criticized for not doing enough to combat shill bidding. Users have developed techniques, such as auction sniping, to avoid fraud across the site.

Fraud committed by buyers includes filing a false shipping damage claim with the shipping company, friendly fraud (receiving merchandise and claiming otherwise), returning items other than those received, removing parts from an item and returning it for a refund, sending a forged payment-service e-mail that states that he or she has made a payment to the seller's account as proof of payment, making a low bid then using pseudo-accounts to make high nonpaying bids in an attempt at gaining a low second chance offer price, damaging a non-refundable item to get a refund by claiming that the seller sent the item already damaged (in cases of buyer's remorse), and a package redirection scam in which the return package is filled with garbage and sent to the wrong address.

In 2004, Tiffany & Co. filed a lawsuit against eBay claiming that over 70% of the Tiffany silver jewelry offered for sale on eBay was fake and that eBay profited from the sales of counterfeit Tiffany items that infringed on its trademark. On July 14, 2008, a Federal District Court judge ruled that eBay did not have a legal responsibility to monitor users selling counterfeit items. In 2010, the Second Circuit affirmed this decision in Tiffany (NJ) Inc. v. eBay Inc.

In June 2008, a court in Paris awarded damages of €40 million to LVMH over eBay auctions of counterfeit bags, perfumes, and other items sold by non-authorized retailers and entered a permanent injunction against eBay auctions of LVMH perfumes, whether counterfeit or not. eBay banned said items from its site. That same month, a court in Troyes, France, ordered eBay to pay luxury goods maker Hermès €20,000 due to the sale of two counterfeit bags on eBay in 2006. The court also ordered eBay to post the ruling on the home page of eBay's French website for three months.

Dr. Seuss books

In 2021, eBay complied with a request from the estate of Dr. Seuss to ban the sale of six Dr. Seuss books due to concerns that some illustrations contained therein were racially insensitive. This led to backlash from followers of right-wing politics and ignited a surge of interest in the discontinued books.

Sale of illegal items

In September 2023, the United States Department of Justice sued eBay, accusing it of violating the Clean Air Act and other environmental laws by allowing the sale of several illegal products, including devices that defeat automobile pollution controls, restricted-use pesticides, and paint and coating removal products containing methylene chloride. The court dismissed the case, ruling that the Communications Decency Act shielded eBay from liability.

Port scanning

In 2020, developer Dan Nemec discovered that eBay was port scanning its users using LexisNexis' ThreatMetrix product to detect remote access. The port scanning was performed using obfuscated client-side JavaScript which attempts to open WebSocket connections to localhost on ports commonly used by remote access tools like VNC.

References

Books

References

1. (February 27, 2025). "eBay, Inc. 2024 Annual Report (Form 10-K)". [[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission]].
2. ROTHMAN, LILY. (September 3, 2015). "The Small-Scale Story Behind eBay's Big Bucks".
3. Seideman, David. (May 20, 2014). "Eight Tips From The Pros For Selling On eBay". [[Forbes]].
4. O'Connell, Brian. (July 16, 2021). "History of eBay: Facts and Timeline". [[TheStreet.com]].
5. Pelline, Jeff. (November 4, 1996). "Airline tickets sold in Net auction". [[CNET]].
6. Vandermey, Anne. (March 11, 2015). "Lessons from the Great Beanie Babies Crash". [[Fortune (magazine).
7. (April 15, 2011). "The history of eBay: How the internet auctioneer rose to the top". [[The Daily Telegraph]].
8. (July 16, 1998). "eBay acquires Jump". [[CNET]].
9. Anders, George. (September 17, 1998). "On-Line Auctions Help Keep eBay's IPO Outlook Strong". [[The Wall Street Journal]].
10. Kawamoto, Dawn. "eBay roars into public trading". [[CNET]].
11. (December 5, 2004). "Pierre M. Omidyar: The Web For The People". [[Bloomberg BusinessWeek]].
12. (June 14, 2000). "Company News; eBay to Acquire Half.com, a Trading Site for Used Items". [[The New York Times]].
13. Eaton, Tim. (June 13, 2000). "EBay acquires Half.com". [[MarketWatch]].
14. (May 2, 2002). "eBay brings escrow aboard". [[CNET]].
15. Schwartz, John. (January 19, 2001). "EBay's 4th-Quarter Earnings Exceed Analysts' Predictions". [[The New York Times]].
16. (January 7, 2001). "eBay gets Korea's largest auction site". [[ZDNet]].
17. (January 12, 2002). "eBay says "oui" to purchase of French auction site". [[CNET]].
18. Gaither, Chris. (February 27, 2002). "Internet: Ebay Exits Japan For Taiwan". [[The New York Times]].
19. (March 1, 2002). "EBay Collects Taiwan Site". [[Forbes]].
20. Nystedt, Dan. (June 26, 2006). "EBay retreats from Taiwan". [[InfoWorld]].
21. (October 3, 2002). "It's Official: eBay Wed PayPal". [[CNET]].
22. Evers, Joris. (October 4, 2002). "EBay completes PayPal acquisition". [[Computerworld]].
23. Wingfield, Nick. (October 4, 2002). "EBay Completes PayPal Deal, Gaining Web-Payments Heft". [[The Wall Street Journal]].
24. Samuels, Diana. (October 29, 2012). "PayPal lays off 325 in effort to speed innovation". [[American City Business Journals]].
25. (2002-12-16). "eBay phasing out Billpoint". The Globe and Mail.
26. "eBay Inc. v. MercExchange, L.L.C.". [[Supreme Court of the United States]].
27. Liu, Lizhi. (2024). "From Click to Boom: The Political Economy of E-Commerce in China". [[Princeton University Press]].
28. (March 12, 2012). "How Taobao bested Ebay in China". [[Financial Times]].
29. Balfour, Frederik. (December 19, 2006). "Tom Online: eBay's Last China Card". [[Bloomberg News]].
30. Richtel, Matt. (August 14, 2004). "EBay Buys 25% Stake in Craigslist, an Online Bulletin Board". [[The New York Times]].
31. (August 16, 2004). "eBay buys into Craigslist". [[CNET]].
32. Said, Carolyn. (August 14, 2004). "EBay buys 25% stake in Craigslist / Ex-employee sells equity to online auctioneer, but founder says deal won't change site". [[San Francisco Chronicle]].
33. Niccolai, James. (December 17, 2004). "Brief: eBay snaps up Rent.com for $415M". [[Computerworld]].
34. (March 9, 2005). "EBay launches Kijiji classifieds". [[MarketWatch]].
35. HASELTON, TODD. (July 5, 2007). "eBay launches Kijiji classifieds in US". [[Ars Technica]].
36. Schwankert, Steven. (July 5, 2007). "eBay launches Kijiji classifieds in U.S.". [[InfoWorld]].
37. STRANGE, ADARIO. (July 5, 2007). "EBay Launches Kijiji In The United States".
38. Brook, Stephen. (May 19, 2005). "eBay buys London ads website Gumtree". [[The Guardian]].
39. Belson, Ken. (September 13, 2005). "EBay to Buy Skype, Internet Phone Service, for $2.6 Billion". [[The New York Times]].
40. (September 13, 2005). "EBay to Buy Skype for $2.6 Billion". [[The Wall Street Journal]].
41. (September 12, 2005). "eBay buys Skype in US$2.6 billion deal". [[ZDNet]].
42. (2010). "EBay Income: How Anyone of Any Age, Location, And/or Background Can Build a Highly Profitable Online Business with EBay". Atlantic Publishing Company.
43. "Archived copy".
44. Dumenco, S.. (February 8, 2006). "Tax Break". [[New York (magazine).
45. (April 24, 2006). "eBay launches online store". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
46. (January 18, 2006). "EBay plans instant-buying service". [[NBC News]].
47. (April 25, 2006). "Whitman's eBay Launches 'Express' Service". [[Forbes]].
48. (April 24, 2006). "EBay launches online store for new, no-bidding items". [[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]].
49. Stone, Brad. (October 11, 2008). "Amid the Gloom, an E-Commerce War". [[The New York Times]].
50. (January 11, 2007). "eBay Buys StubHub Ticket Broker For $310M". [[CBS News]].
51. (January 11, 2007). "EBay buying StubHub for $310M in cash". [[China Daily]].
52. (January 11, 2007). "That's The Ticket: eBay To Acquire StubHub For $310M". [[Advance Publications]].
53. (January 11, 2007). "EBay to buy StubHub for $310M". [[American City Business Journals]].
54. Goldman, David. "eBay's Whitman out; guidance hurts". [[CNN]].
55. (April 23, 2008). "EBay sues Craigslist ad website". [[BBC News]].
56. (May 13, 2008). "Craigslist strikes back at eBay". [[BBC News]].
57. Kawamoto, Dawn. (September 10, 2010). "eBay Gets Partial Win in Craigslist Poison Pill Lawsuit". [[AOL]].
58. Baron, Michael. (September 9, 2010). "Ruling Restores Ebay's Stake in Craigslist". [[TheStreet.com]].
59. Letzing, John. (September 9, 2010). "EBay wins legal ruling against Craigslist". [[MarketWatch]].
60. "EBay opens building with largest solar roof in San Jose". [[The Mercury News]].
61. So-eui, Rhee. (April 12, 2009). "EBay buys Korean rival's stake for $413 mln-report". [[Reuters]].
62. (April 16, 2009). "Ebay to take over Korean auction website". [[Financial Times]].
63. (May 2, 2009). "Ebay Launches Selling Manager Applications Beta". [[HuffPost]].
64. ABELL, JOHN C.. (September 1, 2009). "Ebay Sells 65% of Skype For $1.9 Billion; Andreessen Among Investors".
65. Wauters, Robin. (November 19, 2009). "Breaking: eBay Completes Skype Sale At $2.75 Billion Valuation". [[TechCrunch]].
66. Thompson, Derek. (September 1, 2009). "Why Did eBay Sell Skype?". [[The Atlantic]].
67. Bright, Peter. (May 10, 2011). "Microsoft Buy Skype for $8.5 Billion. Why, Exactly?".
68. Rao, Leena. (June 20, 2011). "eBay Closes $2.4 Billion Acquisition of GSI Commerce". [[TechCrunch]].
69. Protalinski, Emil. (June 20, 2013). "Two years after the acquisition, eBay rebrands GSI Commerce as eBay Enterprise". [[The Next Web]].
70. (March 22, 2012). "PRIMEDIA to Acquire Rent.com from eBay Inc.". [[Business Wire]].
71. Rao, Leena. (March 22, 2012). "eBay Sells Off Real Estate Listings Site Rent.com To Primedia". [[TechCrunch]].
72. Savov, Vlad. (September 13, 2012). "eBay redesigns its logo after a decade and a half of overlapping colors". [[The Verge]].
73. RODRIGUEZ, SALVADOR. (September 14, 2012). "Ebay reveals its first new logo since 1995". [[Los Angeles Times]].
74. Rao, Leena. (September 13, 2012). "After 17 Years, eBay Debuts A New, Sleeker Logo". [[TechCrunch]].
75. (May 1, 2018). "Pitney Bowes and eBay Renew Partnership to Help Millions of eBay Sellers Reach Buyers Internationally". [[Business Wire]].
76. Kucera, Danielle. (October 23, 2012). "EBay Teams Up With FedEx on Shipping to Compete With Amazon". [[Bloomberg News]].
77. Singer, Bill. (November 19, 2012). "After Apple, Google, Adobe, Intel, Pixar, and Intuit, Antitrust Employment Charges Hit eBay". [[Forbes]].
78. (May 1, 2014). "Justice Department Requires eBay to End Anticompetitive "No Poach" Hiring Agreements". [[United States Department of Justice]].
79. Borison, Rebecca. (July 20, 2015). "PayPal Spinoff Day Has Arrived -- What Does It Mean for Investors?". [[TheStreet.com]].
80. (June 29, 2015). "EBay And PayPal Formally Split On July 20".
81. (September 30, 2014). "EBay to Spin Off PayPal, Adopting Strategy Backed by Icahn". [[The New York Times]].
82. (September 30, 2014). "EBay follows Icahn's advice, plans PayPal spinoff in 2015". [[Reuters]].
83. Cheng, Roger. (September 30, 2014). "eBay, PayPal to split into separate companies in 2015". [[CNET]].
84. (January 28, 2015). "eBay Classifieds Expands in Mexico, Acquires Vivanuncios". eBay.
85. Mac, Ryan. (June 19, 2015). "EBay Ends Ties With Craigslist, Sells Minority Stake Back To Craigslist". [[Forbes]].
86. (June 19, 2015). "EBay Sells Stake Back to Craigslist". [[Inc. (magazine).
87. RAO, LEENA. (June 19, 2015). "eBay sells a coveted prize back to Craigslist, ending long legal tussle". [[Fortune (magazine).
88. Bensinger, Greg. (June 19, 2015). "EBay Divests Craigslist Stake, Ends Litigation". [[The Wall Street Journal]].
89. Del Rey, Jason. (August 18, 2015). "eBay Sells Part of Its Stake in Snapdeal, the Alibaba of India". [[Vox.com]].
90. (August 18, 2015). "eBay cuts stake in India's Snapdeal; Foxconn unit invests $200 mln". [[Reuters]].
91. Howland, Daphne. (September 1, 2015). "UPDATE: eBay bans PayPal payment rivals". [[Industry Dive]].
92. (April 10, 2017). "Flipkart to buy eBay India as part of $1.4 billion fund-raising deal". [[Mint (newspaper).
93. Russell, Jon. (April 10, 2017). "Flipkart raises $1.4 billion from eBay, Microsoft and Tencent at an $11.6 billion valuation". [[TechCrunch]].
94. (August 21, 2017). "Flipkart's products now available to global customers". [[The Economic Times]].
95. Bansal, Varsha. (October 25, 2017). "eBay secures 5.4% stake in Flipkart". [[The Economic Times]].
96. (May 10, 2018). "eBay to relaunch India operations after earning $1.1 billion from Flipkart stake". [[The Nikkei]].
97. Brandi. (August 8, 2017). "Half.com Shutting Down, Where to Buy Used CD's, DVD's & Books?". [[WRRV]].
98. Perez, Sarah. (October 26, 2017). "eBay launches visual search tools that let you shop using photos from your phone or web". [[TechCrunch]].
99. Perez, Sarah. (July 26, 2017). "Ebay to launch visual search tools for finding products using photos from your phone or web". [[TechCrunch]].
100. Browne, Ryan. (February 1, 2018). "Why eBay abandoned PayPal for a smaller European competitor". [[CNBC]].
101. (July 20, 2018). "EBay paid $573M to buy Japanese e-commerce platform Qoo10, filing reveals". [[TechCrunch]].
102. (May 2, 2018). "eBay Completes Acquisition of Giosis' Japan Business".
103. Perez, Sarah. (July 24, 2018). "Ebay to add support for Apple Pay, partners with Square Capital on seller financing". [[TechCrunch]].
104. Soper, Spencer. (July 24, 2018). "EBay to Accept Apple Pay and Offer Merchant Loans With Square". [[Bloomberg News]].
105. (September 21, 2018). "eBay to install fencing at San Jose HQ to protect employees". [[The Mercury News]].
106. Thomas, Patrick. (January 29, 2019). "EBay to Pay Its First-Ever Dividend". [[The Wall Street Journal]].
107. . (July 18, 2019). ["ETTech Top 5: EBay buys stake in Paytm Mall, E-comm sales boom despite lower discounts & more"](https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/internet/ettech-top-5-ebay-buys-stake-in-paytm-mall-e-comm-sales-boom-despite-lower-discounts-more/articleshow/70269780.cms). *[[The Economic Times]]*.
108. Chaudhary, Deepti. (July 18, 2019). "eBay logs into Paytm Mall with 5.5% stake, eyes pie of online retail". [[Mint (newspaper).
109. (September 25, 2019). "EBay CEO steps down, cites differences with board". [[Reuters]].
110. Kim, Jasmine. (September 25, 2019). "eBay CEO Devin Wenig is stepping down as the company continues review of potential sale of assets". [[CNBC]].
111. Rubin, Ben Fox. (November 25, 2019). "eBay is selling StubHub tickets marketplace to Viagogo for $4 billion". [[CNET]].
112. (February 13, 2020). "eBay Completes Sale of StubHub". [[PR Newswire]].
113. Kirsch, Noah. (May 27, 2020). "The Worst Deal Ever: The Inside Story Of The Epically Bad". [[Forbes]].
114. Repko, Melissa. (April 13, 2020). "Walmart executive picked as eBay's new CEO". [[CNBC]].
115. "Ebay Inc. Schedule 14A Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Amendment No. )". [[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission]].
116. Perez, Sarah. (November 21, 2023). "eBay to gain $2.2B from sales of its shares in classified biz Adevinta". [[TechCrunch]].
117. (July 20, 2020). "Adevinta wins auction to buy eBay's classified ads unit for nearly $9 billion". [[Reuters]].
118. Solsvik, Terje. (June 18, 2021). "Adevinta, eBay clear final hurdle in $13 bln advertising tie-up". [[Reuters]].
119. Armental, Maria. (September 10, 2020). "EBay Founder Pierre Omidyar Steps Down From Board". [[The Wall Street Journal]].
120. (November 14, 2021). "eBay Completes Transfer of its Businesses in Korea to Emart". [[PR Newswire]].
121. Sri, Deepti. (June 25, 2021). "Report: E-Mart to buy majority of Ebay's South Korean business for $3b". [[Tech in Asia]].
122. (May 5, 2022). "The Chernin Group-Led Consortium to Acquire $263 Million in Funko, a Leading Pop Culture Lifestyle Brand". [[PR Newswire]].
123. (June 22, 2022). "eBay Acquires Leading NFT Marketplace, KnownOrigin". [[PR Newswire]].
124. Malik, Aisha. (June 22, 2022). "eBay acquires NFT marketplace KnownOrigin for an undisclosed sum". [[TechCrunch]].
125. (August 23, 2022). "eBay Acquires the myFitment Group of Companies to Enhance Part and Accessories Listing Experience". [[PR Newswire]].
126. (October 31, 2022). "eBay Acquires TCGplayer". [[PR Newswire]].
127. Malik, Aisha. (August 22, 2022). "eBay is acquiring trading card marketplace TCGplayer for up to $295M". [[TechCrunch]].
128. (July 11, 2023). "eBay Acquires Certilogo". [[PR Newswire]].
129. Malik, Aisha. (July 11, 2023). "eBay acquires AI-powered product authentication company Certilogo". [[TechCrunch]].
130. Vanian, Jonathan. (2024-01-24). "EBay to eliminate about 1,000 jobs, or 9% of full-time workforce".
131. "2005 Annual Report".
132. "2006 Annual Report".
133. "2007 Annual Report".
134. "2008 Annual Report".
135. "2009 Annual Report".
136. "2010 Annual Report".
137. "2011 Annual Report".
138. "2012 Annual Report".
139. "2013 Annual Report".
140. "2014 Annual Report".
141. "2015 Annual Report".
142. "2016 Annual Report".
143. "eBay Inc. - Financial Information - Annual Reports". eBay.
144. "eBay Inc. 2018 Annual Report (Form 10-K)". [[U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission]].
145. (January 2020). "eBay, Inc. 2019 Annual Report (Form 10-K)". eBay.
146. "eBay Inc. 2020 Annual Report (Form 10-K)".
147. Dove, Jackie. (June 9, 2015). "eBay update adds a Sell for Charity option for US and UK markets". [[The Next Web]].
148. (June 11, 2010). "UPDATE 1-Warren Buffett lunch sells for $2.63 mln on eBay". [[Reuters]].
149. (June 9, 2012). "Cost to lunch with Warren Buffett: $3.5 million". [[NBC News]].
150. Stempel, Jonathan. (June 18, 2022). "Warren Buffett charity lunch fetches winning bid of $19 million". [[Reuters]].
151. Alund, Natalie Neysa. (June 20, 2022). "How much does lunch with Warren Buffett cost? Just $19 million.". [[USA Today]].
152. (May 11, 2024). "Beyond Buffett: Marc Benioff lunch auction raises $1.5M for S.F. Glide Foundation". [[CBS News]].
153. Strom, Stephanie. (October 20, 2007). "Critical Letter to Limbaugh Fetches $2 Million". [[The New York Times]].
154. (June 15, 2020). "eBay Inc. Issues Statement Regarding Indictments of Previously Terminated Employees". [[PR Newswire]].
155. Robertson, Adi. (June 15, 2020). "Former eBay security director arrested for harassing journalist with live cockroaches". [[The Verge]].
156. (June 15, 2020). "'We are going to crush this lady': Six former eBay employees charged in federal cyberstalking case targeting Natick couple". [[The Boston Globe]].
157. (June 15, 2020). "6 eBay Employees Charged With Sending Bloody Pig Mask To Natick Couple". [[WBZ-TV]].
158. (June 15, 2020). "Six Former eBay Employees Charged with Aggressive Cyberstalking Campaign Targeting Natick Couple". [[United States Department of Justice]].
159. (November 3, 2022). "Former eBay Employee Sentenced for Aggressive Cyberstalking Campaign". [[United States Department of Justice]].
160. Durkin Richer, Alanna. (June 15, 2020). "Feds: eBay staff sent spiders, roaches to harass couple". [[Associated Press]].
161. Heater, Brian. (June 15, 2020). "US attorney details eBay employees' harassment campaign, including live roaches and a pig fetus". [[TechCrunch]].
162. Streitfeld, David. (September 26, 2020). "Inside eBay's Cockroach Cult: The Ghastly Story of a Stalking Scandal". [[The New York Times]].
163. Kwan, Campbell. "Four former eBay employees set to plead guilty to cyberstalking charges in US". [[ZDNet]].
164. (March 26, 2023). "Investigation continues after couple became the target of harassment, stalking by eBay employees". [[CBS News]].
165. (January 4, 2023). "Disgraced eBay exec wielded power at San Jose City Hall". San Jose Spotlight.
166. Streitfeld, David. (September 16, 2022). "At eBay, Lurid Crimes and the Search for Punishment". [[The New York Times]].
167. (September 10, 2020). "Boys & Girls Clubs of Silicon Valley Names Steve Wymer President and Chief Executive Officer".
168. Metz, Cade. (10 July 2009). "Net sleuth calls eBay on carpet over shill bidding". [[The Register]].
169. Neeson, Johanna. (September 1, 2023). "10 Most Common eBay Scams to Look Out For". [[Reader's Digest]].
170. Griškėnas, Saulius. (August 16, 2023). "Exposing the top 10 eBay scams and how to detect them". [[NordVPN]].
171. Stouffer, Clare. (July 20, 2023). "17 common eBay scams and how to spot them". [[Norton AntiVirus]].
172. Hafner, Katie. (November 27, 2007). "Tiffany and eBay in Fight Over Fakes". [[The New York Times]].
173. Stone, Brad. (July 14, 2008). "Court Clears eBay in Sale of Counterfeit Items". [[The New York Times]].
174. (May 2010). "The Second Circuit's Decision in Tiffany v. eBay". [[Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner]].
175. . (June 30, 2008). ["Court fines eBay over fake goods"](https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7481241.stm). *[[BBC News]]*.
176. Parloff, Roger. (July 11, 2008). "eBay denied stay in LVMH case". [[Fortune (magazine).
177. Goodin, Dan. (June 5, 2008). "French court fines eBay for sale of counterfeit handbags". [[The Register]].
178. Trachtenberg, Jeffrey. (March 4, 2021). "Dr. Seuss books deemed offensive will be delisted from eBay". [[The Wall Street Journal]].
179. Crowley, James. (March 4, 2021). "eBay is removing listings for discontinued Dr. Seuss books citing 'offensive materials policy'". [[Newsweek]].
180. Tweedie, Steven. (March 5, 2021). "eBay is removing listings for the Dr. Seuss books that the author's estate pulled due to their racist imagery". [[Business Insider]].
181. Stempel, Jonathan. (September 27, 2023). "U.S. sues eBay over sale of harmful products". [[Reuters]].
182. Weatherbed, Jess. (2024-10-01). "eBay is off the hook for selling harmful products".
183. (May 26, 2020). "eBay users spot the online auction house port-scanning their PCs. Um... is that OK?". The Register.
184. (May 26, 2020). "eBay is port scanning users' PCs". TechRadar.