This decade has seen a revolution in the way that people shop and earn online. eBay has been at the epicenter of that revolution, experiencing and driving massive changes, both in the larger online marketplace in eBay's own core business structure.
The '00s saw eBay grow from a relatively American-centric outfit with 10 million registered users (far fewer of them active) and a trading volume of $2.8 billion annually to one of the most heralded online retail organizations on Earth, with well over 86 million active traders (and registrations in the many hundreds of millions) and a trading volume of some $60 billion or more annually. Along the way, major online brands like PayPal, Skype, and Shopping.com were bought (and in some cases sold) and eBay's workforce grew from just a few thousand to some 15,000.
All has not always been roses, however, with the 2008 replacement of Meg Whitman by John Donahoe foreshadowing a general shift in strategy that has left some seller communities dissatisfied by eBay's strategic outlook. The introduction of detailed seller ratings, best match search results, close ties to payment services, an emphasis on fixed-price selling, and a more active hand in dispute resolution has for some sellers overshadowed the gains made by the introduction of the Buy It Now format, the closer integration of PayPal, and the expansion into multiple international markets.
eBay Highlights 1999-2009
- 1999 — A year after going public, eBay has 10 million registered users and a gross merchandise volume of $2.8 billion annually. eBay Motors is launched for the first time and at the same time eBay expands into the United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia.
- 2000 — 22.5 million registered users, gross merchandise volume $5.4 billion annually. eBay acquires Half.com, launches eBay University, and introduces the Buy It Now feature. eBay expands into Austria, Canada, France, and Taiwan.
- 2001 — 42.4 million registered users, gross merchandise volume of $9.3 billion annually. eBay launches eBay Stores. eBay expands into Ireland, Italy, South Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland, and Latin America.
- 2002 — 61.7 million registered users, gross merchandise volume of $14.9 billion annually. eBay reaches 4,000 employees. The first eBay Live! conference takes place in Anaheim, California. eBay acquires X.com's PayPal payment service and expands into China.
- 2003 — 95 million registered users, gross merchandise volume of $23.8 billion annually. eBay launches the PayPal Buyer Protection program.
- 2004 — 135 million registered users, gross merchandise volume of $34.2 billion annually. eBay reaches 8,000 employees. eBay expands into Malaysia, the Philippines, India, Germany, and the Netherlands.
- 2005 — 181 million registered users, gross merchandise volume of $44.3 billion annually. PayPal total payment volume reaches $20 billion annually. eBay reaches 10,000 employees. Marking its 10th anniversary, eBay launches Kijiji classifieds, ProStores.com, and PayPal's merchant services, which allows merchants to use PayPal for payment processing beyond the eBay marketplace. eBay acquires Rent.com, Skype, and Shopping.com and expands into Poland.
- 2006 — 222 million registered users, gross merchandise volume of $52.5 billion annually. PayPal total payment volume reaches $35.8 billion annually. Mobile PayPal payments are introduced. eBay expands its China strategy, launching a marketplace in Hong Kong, and also expands into Sweden.
- 2007 — 85.3 million active users worldwide (a new metric introduced in 2007 to replace registered users), gross merchandise volume of $59.4 billion annually. PayPal total payment volume reaches $47.5 billion annually. eBay reaches 15,000 employees. eBay launches the MicroPlace.com microfinance platform and acquires StubHub. eBay Giving Works surpasses the $100 million in donations mark.
- 2008 — 87.7 million active users worldwide, gross merchandise volume of $59.7 billion annually. PayPal total payment volume reaches $60 billion annually. John Donahoe replaces Meg Whitman as eBay's CEO. PayPal celebrates its 10th birthday, Skype its 5th. eBay launches its iPhone app and World of Good, acquires Bill Me Later, and expands into Denmark.
- 2009 — Final numbers haven't been released yet and won't be for some time, but by the time its over 2009 will have brought still more changes. The sale of Skype is now complete, eBay and PayPal continue to grow in transaction volume, handling payments or transactions in over 190 countries and 24 currencies. New strategies, statuses (like the new Top Rated Seller status), and listing formats (like the variations listing format) continue to delight some buyers and sellers and to frustrate others.
eBay Tomorrow
Today there are challenges for eBay on all sides. Competing auction and independent retail sites proliferate, with Amazon.com and Google's own centrality in the online universe serving as primary competitive threats.Strategic missteps, such as the acquisition of Skype (which could never be successfully integrated with eBay's marketplace platform), have also raised questions, not the least of which concerns eBay's future focus. Many assume that eBay's future growth potential lies in PayPal and its payment processing services, a state of affairs that could shift the core of the eBay business away from the buying and selling marketplace—particularly if changes in dispute management and emphasis (such as the strategic shift to more retail-like formats and away from auctions) continue to cause waves in the selling community.
What is clear, however, is that eBay remains the premier buying and selling marketplace in the online universe, with more active listings, users, and goods than shoppers are likely to find anywhere else—and this is likely to remain the case for the forseeable future.
