eBay is the largest online auction and shopping website that lets people from around the world sell and/buy their wares. As such, it offers online auction hosting, electronic commerce, virtual shopping mall, and with its acquisition of Paypal and Skype, an online payment system VoIP services for its users.
Just like other online companies that were launched at around the same time, eBay traces its modest beginnings in San Jose, California on September 4, 1995 when computer programmer Pierre Omidyar put up "AuctionWeb" as part of a website for his online consulting firm Echo Bay Technology Group. For this, Omidyar tried to register the domain name EchoBay.com, but failed as gold mining company Echo Bay Mines had already taken it. So he settled for the shortened domain name eBay.com.
Story came around that eBay was put up to help Omidyar's fiancee, Pam Wesley sell PEZ candy dispensers. It was later reported to be a PR stunt to give a human emotional interest story to the beginnings of eBay. But just the same, the company recognizes the myth as its headquarters has a wall display filled with homage to Pez dispensers.
To test the waters, Omidyar sold the very first item online, his very own broken laser pointer. To his amazement, a bidding materialized, and the item was sold for $13.83. A few years later, Omidyar's AuctionWeb took off and revolutionized active online trading site for sellers and bidders of ordinary, rare, or valuable collectibles, computers, vehicles, equipment, appliances and other items.