Throughout the years, the world has gawked at some of the oddest items listed on eBay, including, among others, old gum, entire towns, and even spouses. The fact that anyone can list almost anything (yes, there are some restrictions), makes this site one of the most interesting places to find rare or outlandish items.
We took a deeper look at the history behind eBay and pulled together some of the most entertaining facts about the company that we could find. Here are 10 that you might not know.
Fill us in on any fun facts that you may have in the comments below.
1. eBay was Originally Called AuctionWeb
This screenshot is the earliest example of the AuctionWeb homepage, circa March 1997, but the basic design did not change from May 1996 to September 1997. Click the image to see the full-sized screenshot.AuctionWeb was just one of four sites housed under Omidyar’s umbrella company, eBay Internet. The other three included a travel site set up in loose partnership with a local San Jose travel agent, a personal shopper site, and a site about the Ebola virus. Check out the screenshot above of AuctionWeb, circa 1997.
The decision to change the name from AuctionWeb to eBay was made by Omidyar and Jeffrey Skoll, eBay’s first full-time employee and president, in mid-1997. The change was spurred by the fact that most customers referred to the site as “eBay,” and the initial media coverage, though sparse, also used “eBay” more than “AuctionWeb.” The actual name change took place in September of 1997 and involved a migration of existing users to a completely new platform with a more graphical website and home page. It also introduced the world to the multi-colored eBay logo we know today.
So, where did “eBay” actually come from? Long before AuctionWeb existed, Omidyar went to Sacramento to register the domain echobay.com for his planned business name Echo Bay Inc., but it was taken. He came up with “eBay” on the spot and registered it instead.
2. The First AuctionWeb Logo Was Called the “Death Bar”
Griffith’s listing described a stack of eBay brochures and stickers that he found in a trash bin at the eBay office. He included a detailed photo as well, watermarked with his seller name, uncle_griff. Upon finding the items, he couldn’t bear to see history tossed away, so he saved them and later sold them on eBay to benefit one of his favorite charities, The Disabled Online Users Association. In his listing, he commented on the blue logo design as:
“…one that didn’t last more than, well, probably a week if my memory serves me. And thank heavens for that! Can you imagine what eBay might have become with such a boring old logo? Still, it could have happened…(shudder).”We agree, Griff. Luckily, in 1997, the company hired CKS Group, an ad agency owned by Bill Cleary, Mark Kvamme, and Tom Suiter (all three of whom had previously worked at Apple Computers), to revamp their corporate identity, including visual imagery, typography, the website, and recommendations on advertising.
A screenshot of eBay’s website in 2003“We saw that site as probably the first social networking site. People were aggregated around their interests -– people who collected antique cars, people who collected toy soldiers, people who collected Civil War memorabilia. I called them ‘eBay tribes.’ With all of the various tribes, the site attracted a lot of different types of people. We wanted to create something that really resonated with the broadest base of consumers.”Inspired by the visual imagery behind Eastman Kodak and Apple, among other brands, Cleary and his team created a logo that would appeal to the masses. The final result was the multi-colored logo spelled e-b-a-Y in overlapping letters with baseline shifts. The logo was chosen out of five or six other designs and had the “friendly, open and accessible” personality that the eBay team was looking for.
3. The First Item Listed on eBay was a Broken Laser Pointer
Among the other items sold just a week after Omidyar launched eBay were autographed Marky Mark underwear for $400, a Superman metal lunchbox for $22, and a Toyota Tercel for $3,200.
4. The eBay HQ Building Names Reflect Categories on eBay
All of the conference rooms are named according to the corresponding building theme. For example, in the Motors building, rooms are named after type of cars, and in the Music building, rooms are take the names of various musical instruments.
True to its name, the Community building has a few distinct characteristics. It’s conference rooms are named after original eBay community terms, including PowerSeller, About Me, Feedback and Buy It Now. And it also houses two of the most social locations on campus, the cafeteria and the coffee house. Even more interesting is the fact that one of its conference rooms is named after an eBay community member, Jack Sheng.
5. Jack Sheng Was the First to Reach a Feedback Score of One Million
To congratulate Sheng, the eBay staff created a special “Shooting Star” for his seller profile and named a conference room after him. Nice setup, Sheng!
6. Fixed-Price Format Trumps Auction Format
7. You Can Adopt a Pet on eBay Classifieds
Check out the eBay Classifieds Pets iPhone app for access to local pet listings on the go. It just launched this week.
8. Mobile is Used for Big Ticket Purchases
Looking at mobile behavior on eBay’s apps, you can see that mobile commerce is an increasingly important focus for the company. One item is purchased every two seconds using eBay mobile apps, and in 2009, eBay users bought $600 million of merchandise using their mobile phones. On the last earnings call, eBay CEO John Donahoe predicted that number will nearly triple this year to $1.5 billion.
An exciting addition to the eBay app roster that will make mobile shopping even easier is Red Laser, a popular iPhone app that scans barcodes in stores, and returns the best prices for the same item online and at other stores. eBay recently acquired the app and will soon integrate Red Laser’s technology within its eBay applications — eBay Marketplace, eBay Selling, StubHub and Shopping.com.
9. The Most Expensive eBay.com Purchase: A Jet
10. eBay was the First to Live-Tweet Its Earnings Call
Prior to that, he had worked in conjunction with eBay’s legal team to create social media guidelines for reporting company information on behalf of eBay to dodge any legal issues.
Brewer-Hay has played a key role in eBay’s growing presence on various social networks, but there are over 40 other eBay-owned Twitter feeds, including eBay Radio, eBay Classifieds, eBay Green, and PayPal.
Did we leave any interesting facts about eBay off of this list? Let us know what you would add in the comments below.
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