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eBay at a Glance: What Every User Should Know


— June 15, 2018

Be it a celebrity hair lock, a man’s entire life, or even a single ordinary corn chip – everything sells on eBay and at prices that will make your eyes pop out. Besides these oddities, the ecommerce giant isn’t far behind in the race for utility either. The top selling product categories on the platform, after all, are electronics, fashion and clothing, lifestyle and home.


Be it a celebrity hair lock, a man’s entire life, or even a single ordinary corn chip – everything sells on eBay and at prices that will make your eyes pop out. Besides these oddities, the ecommerce giant isn’t far behind in the race for utility either. The top selling product categories on the platform, after all, are electronics, fashion and clothing, lifestyle and home.

eBay started off in 1995, in Pierre Omidyar’s living room, with the name AuctionWeb. The business model had always been to build an online trading community, shifting the concept of auctions to the newly skyrocketing web interface. It became an instant success, selling a million items in just two years. In the same year, at the face of growing popularity, the company changed its name to the trendier eBay.

Image courtesy of author.
Image courtesy of author.

In just the last month, eBay sold more than a whopping 232 million items. That translates into daily transactions worth almost $2 billion.

Here’s how it works. Anyone with an eBay account can sell items on the site. The goods can have a fixed price for instant acquisition – promos and discounts apply to those – or be listed for an eBay auction. There, buyers can place bids on desired item and the highest bid wins. Upon payment, the seller ships the product, and in case he or she doesn’t comply, the buyer can file a complaint within 45 days of the lapsed delivery date for a refund.

eBay is a haven for used items; 52.6% of the listed used products are sold compared to the 34.7% sell rate of the new ones. Have a look at some more interesting facts about the sixth most popular website in the USA by clicking on the image below.

Image courtesy of author.
Image courtesy of author.

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