eBay is an online marketplace founded by a French-Iranian named Pierre Omidyar. Pierre came to America along with his family when he was young. When he was in high school, Pierres greatest ambition was to work for Apple Computers. Pierre finished his computer science degree from the University of California.



In 1995, Pierre came upon the idea of creating an online marketplace that allows sellers to auction a wide array of goods. He built a website which was initially operating under the name Auction Web. This site was simply a part of Pierres personal website that serves as an information silo on Ebola virus.

Pierres business expanded as Auction Webs users begun to spread good news about it through word-of-mouth. Even with the minimal fee he collects for every sale, Pierre earned revenues large enough for him to leave his job at a mobile communications company. Pierre decided to give full attention to Auction Web.

Two years after launching Auction Web, Pierre changed the companys name to eBay. eBay is short for Echo Bay Technology Group, a consulting firm owned by Pierre himself. Together with his pool of experienced business managers and brand-builders, Pierre created aggressive campaigns to promote eBay in the Internet.

By the end of 1998, the number of eBay users increased from 900,000 to over two million users. In 1999, there were already 2.5 million auctions going on any time at eBay! AC Nielsen International Research has reported that in July 2005, over 700, 000 Americans have eBay as their primary source of income. Another 1.5 million people say that they supplement their income by selling on eBay.

Still, despite the fact that eBay has helped millions of people sell their items with just a few tweaks and clicks, the company never strays away from its goal of building trust among and between its users from all over the world. eBays priority is not just getting people to sell or buy products and services. The companys core interest is to build an online community in which everyone the sellers and the buyers can make the most out of what they have.