It has been around for about 13 years now, since it was founded in 1995 in San Jose, California by a computer programmer, Pierre Omidyar and it has the distinction of being one of the few internet businesses with a single business focus to have consistently made a profit from the start. Originally known as AuctionWeb, eBay now includes well-known internet sites such as PayPal, Skype and Shopping.com.

eBay has around 276 million registered users in 39 markets world-wide and approximately 1.3 million sellers. Although it started out as an auction site users are able to buy and sell in fixed-price as well as auction formats and this they do continually, trading more than $2039.00 worth of goods, from collectibles to computers and virtually everything in between, every second of the day.

Although it made its name as a marketplace for used goods and collectibles today sellers on eBay range from individuals trying to make a few dollars on unwanted goods to major businesses auctioning their stock.

So, is it easy to use?

With so many people using eBay one would reasonably assume that the site was easy to negotiate but, surprisingly, many users complain about the difficulty in using it. Here is a direct quote from a user on Webword.com which echoes the feelings of many of his fellow 'eBayers': "It is unfortunate that eBay has gotten more and more complicated than when I had first joined in 1999. I have to say, eBay.com was faster, more efficient, and was much easier to use back then. I've spent a lot of time on eBay and you would think that it would get easier and easier to use. However, because they keep adding features, it is actually getting more difficult to use. What a shame."

The site appears to be more complex to use from the seller's point of view which is natural since there is more responsibility involved in advertising and selling an item. One disgruntled seller suggests that the only reason that eBay is successful despite making the process so difficult is that, because they are making money rather than spending it, the user is more willing to accept the complexity of the site.

Personal experience in buying through eBay has been relatively simple. Where the buyer is concerned, once you have registered the biggest problem is finding exactly what you want among the millions of items for sale. Of course, there is always the possibility of fraud and you need to read the advertisements and the seller's feedback carefully to avoid being 'had'.

Conclusion

eBay has been an extremely successful marketing concept which continues to flourish regardless of the fact that many sellers find the process difficult or tedious. If you are looking for a bargain on eBay it is important to remember that it is, in essence, simply a very big, online garage sale.

Have fun, enjoy the excitement of a live auction, just be careful not to get carried away. You want to purchase what you want, not be taken to the cleaners.