eBay Inc.
Type	Public (NASDAQ: EBAY)
Founded	San Jose, California, USA (September 3, 1995)
Headquarters	San Jose, California, United States
Key people	John Donahoe, CEO Rajiv Dutta, President of eBay Marketplaces Meg Whitman, former CEO and board member Pierre Omidyar, Founder and Chairman
Industry	Auctions
Products	Online auction hosting, Electronic commerce, Shopping mall PayPal, Skype, Gumtree, Kijiji
Revenue	▲$7. A public company usually refers to a company that is permitted to offer its registered securities ( Stock, bonds, etc The NASDAQ (acronym of National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations) is an American Stock exchange. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Events 36 BC - In the Battle of Naulochus, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Admiral of Octavian, defeats Sextus Pompeius Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 John Donahoe became President and CEO of EBay Inc on March 31 2008 succeeding Meg Whitman, who stepped down from the role after 10 years and who continues to serve on the Rajiv Dutta is a noted technology manager who has worked at major bioscience semiconductor software and online companies Margaret Cushing "Meg" Whitman (born August 4, 1956) was President and Chief Executive Officer of EBay from March 1998 to March 2008 when Pierre M Omidyar ( born June 21, 1967) is a French -born Iranian American Entrepreneur and Philanthropist / For other uses of this term see Industry (disambiguation An industry (from Latin industrius, "diligent industrious" "Auctioneer" redirects here For the DC Comics supervillain see Auctioneer (comics. In Marketing, a product is anything that can be offered to a Market that might satisfy a want or need The online auction business model is one in which participants bid for products and services over the Internet. Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce' or eCommerce, consists of the buying and selling of products or services over electronic A shopping mall or shopping centre is a building or set of buildings that contain Retail units with interconnecting Walkways enabling visitors PayPal is an E-commerce business allowing payments and Money transfers to be made through the Internet. Skype (skaɪp is Software that allows users to make telephone calls over the Internet. Gumtree is a fast growing network of free Online classifieds and community websites Kijiji ( Swahili for village) is a centralized network of online urban communities for posting local Online classified advertisements. In business revenue or revenues is Income that a company receives from its normal business activities usually from the sale of goods and services 67 billion USD (2007)
Employees	15,500 (Q1 2008)
Slogan	What ever it is, you can get it on eBay. The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been Employment is a Contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. A slogan is a memorable Motto or Phrase used in a Political, commercial, Religious and other context as a repetitive expression of , and Shop victoriously!
Website	www.ebay.com List of domain names
Type of site	online auction
Registration	required to buy and sell
Available in	Multilingual
Launched	September 3, 1995
Screenshot The eBay homepage. A website (alternatively web site or Web site, a back-construction from the Proper noun World Wide Web) is a collection of Web pages The online auction business model is one in which participants bid for products and services over the Internet. A human language is a Language primarily intended for communication among Humans The two major categories of human languages are Natural languages and Events 36 BC - In the Battle of Naulochus, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Admiral of Octavian, defeats Sextus Pompeius Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995

eBay Inc. is an American Internet company that manages eBay. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Internet is a global system of interconnected Computer networks com, an online auction and shopping Web site in which people and businesses buy and sell goods and services worldwide. The online auction business model is one in which participants bid for products and services over the Internet. A website (alternatively web site or Web site, a back-construction from the Proper noun World Wide Web) is a collection of Web pages In addition to its original U. S. Web site, eBay has established localized Web sites in thirty other countries. eBay Inc also owns PayPal, Skype,^[1] StubHub, and other businesses. PayPal is an E-commerce business allowing payments and Money transfers to be made through the Internet. Skype (skaɪp is Software that allows users to make telephone calls over the Internet. StubHub is a service which acts as an online marketplace for Buyers and Sellers of tickets for Sports concerts Theater and other live

Contents 1 Origins and early history 2 International 3 Items and services 3.1 PayPal-only categories 3.2 eBay Express 3.3 eBay Specialty Sites 4 Auction types 5 Bidding 6 Profit and transactions 7 Acquisitions 8 Controversy and criticisms 8.1 Ebay requires sellers to use Paypal 8.1.1 Australia 8.1.2 United Kingdom 8.2 Fraud 8.3 Other controversial practices of users 8.4 Stealing eBay accounts 8.5 Forgeries 8.6 Intellectual property in auctions 8.7 Romanian hacker "Vladuz" & website security 8.8 Other eBay controversies 9 Prohibited or restricted Items 10 Unusual sale items 11 Charity auctions 12 Customer support 13 Environmental record 14 See also 15 Notes and references 16 Further reading 17 External links

Origins and early history

The online auction Web site was founded in San Jose, California, on September 3, 1995, by French-born Iranian computer programmer Pierre Omidyar as AuctionWeb,^[2] part of a larger personal site that included, among other things, Omidyar's own tongue-in-cheek tribute to the Ebola virus. The online auction business model is one in which participants bid for products and services over the Internet. Events 36 BC - In the Battle of Naulochus, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Admiral of Octavian, defeats Sextus Pompeius Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Pierre M Omidyar ( born June 21, 1967) is a French -born Iranian American Entrepreneur and Philanthropist / Ebola is the common term for a group of Viruses belonging to genus Ebolavirus, family Filoviridae, and for the disease which they ^[3]

The very first item sold on eBay was a broken laser pointer for $14. A laser pointer is a portable pen-sized Laser designed to be held in the hand and most commonly used to project a point of light to highlight items of interest during a 83. Astonished, Omidyar contacted the winning bidder to ask if he understood that the laser pointer was broken. In his responding email, the buyer explained: "I'm a collector of broken laser pointers. "^[4] The frequently-repeated story that eBay was founded to help Omidyar's fiancée trade PEZ Candy dispensers was fabricated by a public relations manager in 1997 to interest the media. PEZ is the brand name of an Austrian candy the pocket mechanical dispensers for such candy and an abbreviation of PEZ Candy Inc This was revealed in Adam Cohen's 2002 book^[3] and confirmed by eBay.

Chris Agarpao was hired as eBay's first employee and Jeffrey Skoll was hired as the first president of the company in early 1996. Jeffrey Skoll (born January 16, 1965) is a Canadian born Businessman who lives in Los Angeles California. In November 1996, eBay entered into its first third-party licensing deal, with a company called Electronic Travel Auction to use SmartMarket Technology to sell plane tickets and other travel products. The company officially changed the name of its service from AuctionWeb to eBay in September 1997. Originally, the site belonged to Echo Bay Technology Group, Omidyar's consulting firm. Omidyar had tried to register the domain name echobay.com (the domain has recently been put up for sale) but found it already taken by the Echo Bay Mines, a gold mining company, so he shortened it to his second choice, eBay. The Echo Bay Mines Limited company was organized in 1964 to develop a Silver deposit at Great Bear Lake, Northwest Territories, which became com. ^[5]

eBay went public on September 21^[6], 1998, and both Omidyar and Skoll became instant billionaires. Events 1217 - The Estonian tribal leader Lembitu of Lehola was killed in a battle against Teutonic Knights. Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) ^[4] The company purchased PayPal on October 14, 2002. PayPal is an E-commerce business allowing payments and Money transfers to be made through the Internet. Events 1066 - Norman Conquest: Battle of Hastings - In England on Senlac Hill seven miles from Hastings, the forces See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar.

The domain ebay. com attracted at least 902 million visitors annually by 2008 according to a Compete.com study. Competecom is a United States Web traffic analysis service that publishes the approximate number of U This was thrice the numbers of walmart. com. ^[7]

International

In addition to its original U. S. Web site, eBay has established localized Web sites in several other countries:

Country/region	Website	Language	Launch date
Argentina	http://www.mercadolibre.com.ar/	Spanish	2 August 1999
Australia	http://www.ebay.com.au/	English	01999-10 October 1999[8]
Austria	http://www.ebay.at/	German	02000-12-18 18 December 2000[9]
Belgium	http://www.ebay.be/	Dutch, French	?
Brazil	http://www.mercadolivre.com.br/	Portuguese	?
Canada	http://www.ebay.ca/	English, French	02000-04 April 2000[10]
China	http://www.ebay.com.cn/	Chinese	?
France	http://www.ebay.fr/	French	02000-10-05 5 October 2000[11][12]
Germany	http://www.ebay.de/	German	01999-06 June 1999
Hong Kong	http://www.ebay.com.hk/	Chinese, English	02003-12-21 21 December 2003[13]
India	http://www.ebay.in/	English	?
Ireland	http://www.ebay.ie/	English	02001-03-29 29 March 2001[14]
Israel	http://www.ebay.co.il/	English	?
Italy	http://www.ebay.it/	Italian	02001-01-15 15 January 2001[15]
Malaysia	http://www.ebay.com.my/	English	02004-12-01 1 December 2004[16]
Mexico	http://www.mercadolibre.com.mx/	Spanish	?
Netherlands	http://www.ebay.nl/	Dutch	?
New Zealand	http://pages.ebay.com/nz	English	02001-03-29 29 March 2001[14]
Philippines	http://www.ebay.ph/	English	02004-11-16 16 November 2004[17]
Poland	http://www.ebay.pl/	Polish	02005-04-22 22 April 2005[18]
Singapore	http://www.ebay.com.sg/	English	02001-10-24 24 October 2001[19]
South Africa	http://www.ebay.co.za/	English	?
South Korea	http://www.auction.co.kr/	Korean	02001-02-15 15 February 2001[20]
Spain	http://www.ebay.es/	Spanish	02002-01-08 8 January 2002[21]
Sweden	http://www.tradera.com/	Swedish	Template:1999
Switzerland	http://www.ebay.ch/	German, French	02001-03-29 29 March 2001[14]
Taiwan	http://www.ruten.com.tw/	Chinese	?
Turkey	http://www.gittigidiyor.com/	Turkish	02007-05-03 3 May 2007
United Arab Emirates	http://www.ebay.ae/	English	?
United Kingdom	http://www.ebay.co.uk/	English	01999-10 October 1999[22]
United States	http://www.ebay.com/	English	01995-09-03 3 September 1995
Vietnam	http://www.ebay.vn/	Vietnamese, English	02007-06-27 27 June 2007[23]

Items and services

Millions of collectibles, decor, appliances, computers, furniture, equipment, vehicles, and other miscellaneous items are listed, bought, and sold daily. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Argentina topics. Events 338 BC - A Macedonian army led by Philip II defeated the combined forces of Athens and Thebes in the Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States October events and holidays Children's Book Week ( England) - First Week of October National Day ( China People's Republic Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. Events 218 BC - Second Punic War: Battle of the Trebia - Hannibal 's Carthaginian forces defeat those of the 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those Dutch ( is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people 22 million of which are from the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld Brazilian Portuguese ( Language code pt-BR Portuguese: português brasileiro or português do Brasil) is a group of Portuguese Country to "Dominion of Canada" or "Canadian Federation" or anything else please read the Talk Page English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people April holidays and events National Poetry Month - in United States National Sexual Assault Awareness Month - in United 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. Talk People's Republic of China) PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Events 869 - The Fourth Council of Constantinople is convened to decide about what to do about Patriarch Photius of Constantinople 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. Events in June Madaraka Day June 1 to commemorate when Kenya gained internal self-rule Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) Hong Kong ( officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a territory located on China 's south coast on the Pearl River Delta, and borders English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Events 69 - The end of the Year of the four emperors: Following Galba, Otho and Vitellius, Vespasian Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Events 1461 - Wars of the Roses: Battle of Towton - Edward of York defeats Queen Margaret to become King Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Italian ( or lingua italiana) is a Romance language spoken by about 63 million people as a First language, primarily in Italy. Events 588 BC - Nebuchadrezzar II of Babylon lays siege to Jerusalem under Zedekiah 's reign Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. For the biogeographical region see Malesia Malaysia (məˈleɪʒə or /məˈleɪziə/ is a country that consists of thirteen states and English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Events 800 - Charlemagne judges the accusations against Pope Leo III in the Vatican "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " The United Mexican States ( or commonly Mexico (ˈmɛksɪkoʊ () is a federal constitutional Republic in North America. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Dutch ( is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people 22 million of which are from the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Events 1461 - Wars of the Roses: Battle of Towton - Edward of York defeats Queen Margaret to become King Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. The Philippines ( Filipino: Pilipinas, officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (fil ''Republika ng Pilipinas'' RP English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Events 534 - A second and final revision of the Codex Justinianus is published "MMIV" redirects here For the Modest Mouse album see " Baron von Bullshit Rides Again " Poland (Polska officially the Republic of Poland Polish ( język polski, polszczyzna) is the Official language of Poland. Events 1500 - Portuguese Navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral becomes the first European to sight Brazil. Year 2005 ( MMV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Singapore English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Events 69 - Second Battle of Bedriacum, forces under Antonius Primus the commander of the Danube armies loyal to Vespasian, defeat Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. The Republic of South Africa (also known by other official names) is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often referred to as Korea ( Korean: 대한민국 tɛː This article is mainly about the spoken Korean language See Hangul for details on the native Korean writing system Events 590 - Khosrau II is crowned as king of Persia 1637 - Ferdinand III becomes Holy Roman Emperor Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Events 871 - Battle of Ashdown - Ethelred of Wessex defeats a Danish invasion army See also 2002 (disambiguation Year 2002 ( MMII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. "Sverige" redirects here For other uses see Sweden (disambiguation and Sverige (disambiguation. Swedish ( is a North Germanic language spoken by more than nine million people predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along the Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Events 1461 - Wars of the Roses: Battle of Towton - Edward of York defeats Queen Margaret to become King Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. REPUBLIC OF CHINA ARTICLE GUIDELINES Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches Turkish ( tr Türkçe IPA) is a language spoken by over 63 million people worldwide making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Events 1491 - Kongo monarch Nkuwu Nzinga is baptised by Portuguese missionaries adopting the baptismal name of João Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States October events and holidays Children's Book Week ( England) - First Week of October National Day ( China People's Republic Year 1999 ( MCMXCIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full 1999 Gregorian calendar) The United States of America —commonly referred to as the English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Events 36 BC - In the Battle of Naulochus, Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Admiral of Octavian, defeats Sextus Pompeius Year 1995 ( MCMXCV) was a Common year starting on Sunday. Events of 1995 Vietnam (ˌviːɛtˈnɑːm Việt Nam) officially English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Events 1358 - Republic of Dubrovnik is founded 1709 - Peter the Great defeats Charles XII of Sweden Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. For the record label see Collectables Records For the Ashanti album see Collectables by Ashanti A collectable Interior decoration or decor is the Art of decorating a room so that it is attractive easy to use and functions well with the existing Architecture Home appliances are electrical/mechanical Appliances which accomplish some Household functions such as Cooking or cleaning. A computer is a Machine that manipulates data according to a list of instructions. Furniture is the Mass noun for the movable objects which may support the human body (seating furniture and beds, provide storage or hold objects on horizontal A broader definition of a tool is an entity used to interface between two or more domains that facilitates more effective action of one domain upon the other Vehicles, derived from the Latin word vehiculum, are non-living Means of transport. In 2005, eBay launched its Business & Industrial category, breaking into the industrial surplus business. Some items are rare and valuable, while many others are dusty gizmos that would have been discarded if not for the thousands of eager bidders worldwide. Anything can be sold as long as it is not illegal and does not violate the eBay Prohibited and Restricted Items policy. ^[24] Services and intangibles can be sold, too. Large international companies, such as IBM, sell their newest products and offer services on eBay using competitive auctions and fixed-priced storefronts. International Business Machines Corporation abbreviated IBM and nicknamed "Big Blue", is a multinational Computer Technology Regional searches of the database make shipping slightly faster and cheaper. Separate eBay sites such as eBay US and eBay UK allow the users to trade using the local currency as an additional option to PayPal. PayPal is an E-commerce business allowing payments and Money transfers to be made through the Internet. Software developers can create applications that integrate with eBay through the eBay API by joining the eBay Developers Program. ^[25] As of June of 2005, there were over 15,000 members in the eBay Developers Program, comprising a broad range of companies creating software applications to support eBay buyers and sellers as well as eBay Affiliates.

Controversy has arisen over certain items put up for bid. For instance, in late 1999, a man offered one of his kidneys for auction on eBay, attempting to profit from the potentially lucrative (and, in the United States, illegal) market for transplantable human organs. The kidneys are complicated organs that have numerous biological roles On other occasions, people and even entire towns have been listed, often as a joke or to garner free publicity. In general, the company removes auctions that violate its terms of service agreement within a short time after hearing of the auction from an outsider; the company's policy is to not pre-approve transactions. Terms of service (often abbreviated as "ToS" are rules by which one must agree to abide by in order to use a service. eBay is also an easy place for unscrupulous sellers to market counterfeit merchandise, which can be difficult for novice buyers to distinguish without careful study of the auction description. A counterfeit is an imitation that is made usually with the intent to deceptively represent its content or origins

PayPal-only categories

Beginning in August of 2007, eBay required listing in "Video Games" and "Health & Beauty" to accept its payment system PayPal and sellers could only accept PayPal for payments in the category "Video Games: Consoles". PayPal is an E-commerce business allowing payments and Money transfers to be made through the Internet. ^[26] Starting January 10, 2007, eBay says sellers can only accept PayPal as payment for the categories "Computing > Software", "Consumer Electronics > MP3 Players", "Wholesale & Job Lots > Mobile & Home Phones", and "Business, Office & Industrial > Industrial Supply / MRO". Events 49 BC - Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signaling the start of civil war. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. ^[27] eBay announced that starting in March 2008, eBay had added to this requirement that all sellers with less than 100 feedbacks must offer PayPal and no merchant account may be used as an alternative. A merchant account is a contract under which an Acquiring bank extends a Line of credit to a Merchant, who wishes to accept Payment card ^[28][29] This is in addition to the requirement that all sellers from the United Kingdom have to offer PayPal. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located ^[30]

Further, and as noted below, it is a requirement to offer Paypal on all listings in Australia and the UK.

eBay Express

In April of 2006, eBay opened its new eBay Express site, which is designed to work like a standard Internet shopping site to consumers with United States addresses (eBay Express). Selected eBay items are mirrored on eBay Express where buyers shop using a shopping cart to purchase from multiple sellers. The UK version was launched to eBay members in mid October 2006 but on 29 January 2008 eBay announced their intention to close the site^[31]. Events 904 - Sergius III comes out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed Antipope Christopher. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common The German version was also opened in 2006 and closed in 2008 (eBay Express Germany).

eBay Specialty Sites

In June 2006, eBay added an eBay Community Wiki and eBay Blogs to its Community Content which also includes the Discussion Boards, Groups, Answer Center, Chat Rooms, and Reviews & Guides. eBay has a robust mobile offering, including SMS alerts, a WAP site, and J2ME clients, available in certain markets. Short Message Service ( SMS) is a Communications protocol allowing the interchange of short text messages between mobile telephone devices. WAP is an open international Standard for Application layer network communications in a Wireless communication environment In computing the Java Platform Micro Edition or Java ME (still commonly referred to by its previous name Java 2 Platform Micro Edition or J2ME) is a specification

Best of eBay is a new specialty site for finding the most-unusual items on the eBay site. Users can also vote on and nominate listings that they find.

eBay Pulse provides information about popular search terms, trends, and most-watched items.

Auction types

eBay offers several types of auctions.

• Auction-style listings allow the seller to offer one or more items for sale for a specified number of days. The seller can establish a reserve price.
• Fixed Price format allows the seller to offer one or more items for sale at a Buy It Now price. Buyers who agree to pay that price win the auction immediately without submitting a bid.
• Dutch Auctions allow the seller to offer two or more identical items in the same auction. A Dutch auction is a type of Auction where the auctioneer begins with a high Asking price which is lowered until some participant is willing to accept the auctioneer's Bidders can bid for any number from one item up to the total number offered.

Bidding

For auction-style listings, the first bid must be at least the amount of the minimum bid set by the seller. Regardless of the amount the first bidder actually bids, until a second bid is made, eBay will then display the auction's minimum bid as the current high bid. After the first bid is made, each subsequent bid must be equal to at least the current highest bid displayed plus one bidding increment. The bidding increment is established by eBay based on the size of the current highest displayed bid. For example, when the current highest bid is less than or equal to $0. 99, the bidding increment is $0. 05; when the current highest bid is at least $1. 00 but less than or equal to $4. 99, the bidding increment is $0. 25. Regardless of the amount each subsequent bidder bids, eBay will display the lesser of the bidder's actual bid and the amount equal to the previous highest bidder's actual bid plus one bidding increment. For example, suppose the current second-highest bid is $2. 05 and the highest bid is $2. 40. eBay will display the highest bid as $2. 30, which equals the second-highest bid ($2. 05) plus the bidding increment ($0. 25). In this case, eBay will require the next bid to be at least $2. 55, which equals the highest displayed bid ($2. 30) plus one bidding increment ($0. 25). The next bid will display as the actual amount bid or $2. 65, whichever is less. The figure of $2. 65 in this case comes from the then-second-highest actual bid of $2. 40 plus the bidding increment of $0. 25. The winning bidder pays the bid that eBay displays, not the amount actually bid. Following this example, if the next bidder is the final bidder, and bids $2. 55, the winner pays $2. 55, even though it is less than the second-highest bid ($2. 40) plus one bidding increment ($0. 25). However, if the next bidder is the final bidder and bids an arbitrarily large amount, for example $10. 00 or even more, the winner pays $2. 65, which equals the second-highest bid plus one bidding increment.

For Dutch Auctions, which are auctions of two or more identical items sold in one auction, each bidder enters both a bid and the number of items desired. Until the total number of items desired by all bidders equals the total number of items offered, bidders can bid any amount greater than or equal to the minimum bid. Once the total numbers of items desired by all bidders is greater than or equal to the total number offered, each bidder is required to bid one full bidding increment above the currently-displayed winning bid. All winning bidders pay the same lowest winning bid.

eBay has established detailed rules about bidding, retraction of bids, shill bidding (collusion to drive up the price), and other aspects of bidding. These rules can be viewed on the help pages.

In 2007, eBay began using detailed seller ratings of one to five stars on feedback. eBay labels the detailed seller ratings when filling out feedback as 5 being very reasonable and 4 being reasonable, however sellers with any detailed ratings of 4. 3 and below are penalized and less visible in its search listings and having all 4. 5 DSR rating is required to be a power seller, making the rating of 4 as unreasonable. ^{[32][33][34][35][36]}

Profit and transactions

eBay generates revenue from a number of fees. The eBay fee system is quite complex; there are fees to list a product and fees when the product sells, plus several optional fees, all based on various factors and scales. The U. S. -based eBay. com takes $0. 20 to $80 per listing and 5. 25% or less of the final price (as of 2007). The Mexican eBay "mercado libre" takes 1% (price of the article × number of articles to be sold), and 4. 99% of the final price if there is a successful trade. The UK based ebay. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located co. uk (ebay.co.uk offices) takes from GBP £0. The Pound Sterling ( symbol £; ISO code: GBP) subdivided into 100 pence (singular penny) is the Currency 15 to a maximum rate of GBP £3 per £100 for an ordinary listing and from 0. The Pound Sterling ( symbol £; ISO code: GBP) subdivided into 100 pence (singular penny) is the Currency 75% to 5. 25% of the final price. In addition, eBay now owns the PayPal payment system which has fees of its own. PayPal is an E-commerce business allowing payments and Money transfers to be made through the Internet.

Under current U. S. law, a state cannot require sellers located outside the state to collect a sales tax, making deals more attractive to buyers. A sales tax is a Consumption tax charged at the Point of purchase for certain goods and services Although state laws require purchasers to pay sales tax to their own states on out-of-state purchases, most non-professional sellers ignore this requirement. However, most sellers that operate as a full time business do follow state tax regulations on their eBay transactions. However for the tax called Value added tax (VAT), eBay requires sellers to include the VAT fees in their listing price and not as an add-on and thus eBay profits by collecting fees based on what governments tax for VAT. Value added tax ( VAT) or goods and services tax ( GST) is a consumption Tax levied on value added. Value added tax ( VAT) or goods and services tax ( GST) is a consumption Tax levied on value added. ^[37]

The company's current business strategy includes increasing revenue by increasing international trade within the eBay system. International or internationally most often describes interaction between Nations or encompassing two or more nations constituting a group or association having eBay has already expanded to over two dozen countries including China and India. The only places where expansion failed were Taiwan and Japan, where Yahoo! had a head start, and New Zealand where TradeMe, owned by the Fairfax media group is the dominant online auction website. Trademe, managed by the company Trade Me Ltd is the largest Internet-auction website operating in New Zealand as of 2007 Fairfax Media Limited, is one of Australia's largest diversified media companies

Acquisitions

Main article: List of acquisitions by eBay

Controversy and criticisms

eBay has its share of controversy, ranging from its privacy policy (eBay typically turns over user information to law enforcement without a subpoena) to well-publicized seller fraud. This is a list of acquisitions by eBay, an Online auction website launched on September 3 1995 Data privacy is the relationship between collection and dissemination of Data, Technology, the public Expectation of privacy, and the Legal issues A subpoena (səˈpiːnə is commonly defined as a written command to a person to Testify before a Court or be punished In the broadest sense a fraud is a Deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual eBay claims that their data shows that less than . 01% of all transactions result in a confirmed case of fraud. However, eBay states that their stated fraud statistic both undercounts and overcounts fraud. ^[38]

Ebay requires sellers to use Paypal

Australia

Shortly after Australian Today Tonight released a TV news report saying PayPal was unsafe for both buyers and sellers,^[39] in April 2008 eBay announced an introduction of a 'pay-pal only' policy in Australia. Today Tonight is an Australian tabloid current affairs program produced by the Seven Network and shown weeknightly at 6 PayPal is an E-commerce business allowing payments and Money transfers to be made through the Internet. ^[40] The new policy will mean that sellers will only be able to offer Paypal or cash payment on pick-up as payment methods. eBay claims that Paypal is the most secure method of payment, but that has not been proven one way or another. The ACCC (Australian Competition & Consumer Commission) is currently calling for submissions from interested parties,^[41] and a petition has also been started with currently more than 12,000 signatures calling for eBay to reverse this decision. Under the Trade Practices Act 1974 Amended, it is unlawful for a company to require the use of a third party's products or services in order for a person to deal with the company. It is called Third Line Forcing. Third line forcing is a form of Exclusive dealing involving the supply of goods or services on the condition that the purchaser buys goods or services from a particular third ^[42] eBay applied for an exemption, and as is the ACCC's policy to automatically grant said exemption, they were successful. ^[43] The exemption was disputed once the users were made aware of eBay's plans. ^[44][45]

The new policy has been implemented because, according to eBay Australia's Trust & Safety Director Alastair MacGibbon, "eBay is no longer willing to stand aside and allow payment methods on the site that are proven to be less safe for consumers". He then claims that fraud only makes up 1/100th of 1%. Alastair MacGibbon has also stated that the new "Paypal only" policy was being tested in Australia, and the results would determine what happens with eBay on a global scale. ^[46]

United Kingdom

A similar policy was also introduced in the United Kingdom, though in stages. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The first stage, which was adopted on March 25, 2008, was aimed at sellers with feedback scores under 100 and in certain high risk categories. Events 1199 - Richard I is wounded by a crossbow bolt while fighting France which leads to his death on April 6. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common However, the requirement will extend to all sellers from June 3, 2008. Events 350 - Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, proclaims himself Roman Emperor, entering 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common ^[47]

Fraud

One mechanism eBay uses to combat fraud is its feedback system. In the broadest sense a fraud is a Deception made for personal gain or to damage another individual Before eBay's January 29th, 2008, policy-change announcement, at the end of every transaction, both the buyer and seller had the option of rating each other. Both parties had the ability to rate each other and the experience as a "positive", "negative", or "neutral" rating and leave a comment no longer than 80 characters. As of incoming CEO's John Donahoe's announcement however, the option for sellers to leave anything other than positive feedback to buyers was removed. ^[48][49][50]

Weaknesses of the feedback system include:^[51][52]

• Small and large transactions carry the same weight in the feedback summary. It is therefore easy for a dishonest user to initially build up a deceptive positive rating by buying or selling a number of very low value items, such as e-books, recipes, etc. An e-book (for electronic book: also ebook) is the Digital media equivalent of a conventional printed Book. , then subsequently switching to fraud. eBay has since restricted digitally-delivered items to classified listings, which do not involve feedback.
• A user may be reluctant to leave honest feedback out of fear of negative retaliatory feedback (including "negative" in retaliation for "neutral").
• Users and generators of feedback may have different ideas about what it means. eBay offers virtually no guidelines.
• Feedback and responses to feedback are allotted only 80 characters each. This can prevent users from being able to fully list valid complaints.
• Although eBay protects sellers from getting a negative feedback from a deadbeat buyer when the deadbeat buyer/bidder did not respond to Unpaid Item dispute, they do not offer the same protection for a buyer who gets a deadbeat seller.

eBay acknowledges weaknesses in its feedback system on its own policy pages, noting several of the above points. ^[53]

When a user feels that a seller or buyer has been dishonest, a dispute can be filed with eBay. An eBay account (whether seller, buyer or both) may be suspended if there are too many complaints against the account holder.

Originally, feedback could be left for a seller or buyer whether or not it involved a transaction and could be left multiple times by the same person. While one upside is that it allowed people to offset feedback in case of fortune reversals (as feedback can never be edited or retracted once it is left) and has even allowed people to leave feedback for a seller or buyer simply for answering a question, the downside of this more than offset it as it allowed people to flame others or try to ruin credibility (as every feedback also counted towards one's rating, no matter what). Eventually, one could only leave feedback if they won an auction, and only one feedback message could be left per transaction.

eBay allows Mystery Box and Mystery Envelope auctions; however, these are almost all fraudulent auctions because the seller can manipulate the box contents to make sure it is never a good deal for the buyer. ^[54] Mystery Envelope auctions offer cash prizes of an undisclosed amount to auction winners. The auction winner usually receives from 10% to 30% of the money he/she paid for the auction back in 'winnings'. ^[55] Mystery Envelope auctions are considered by many to be illegal lotteries. This was also the case with auctions for "repackaging" of collectible card game cards (such as Magic: The Gathering or Pokemon) with the promise that one of the repackages has an expensive rare card. Collectible card games (CCGs also called trading card games (TCGs or customizable card games (CCGs are played using specially designed sets of cards This article is somewhat over-complete Please do not add significant new content without first discussing it on the talk page If you came here to express your personal opinion about Pokémon please go somewhere else

Professional scammers target new members to take advantage of their unfamiliarity with how eBay or PayPal work. ^[56] New members can be easily tricked into thinking there is a special Web site they should make payments through (which is in fact a fake site setup by a scammer) or they may be tricked more easily into using a fake escrow company.

Many complaints have been made about eBay's system of dealing with fraud, leading to its being featured on the British consumer rights television program Watchdog. Watchdog is a BBC Television series that investigates viewers' reports of problematic experiences with traders retailers and other companies around the It is also regularly featured in The Daily Mirror's Consumer Awareness page. The Daily Mirror, often referred to simply as The Mirror, is a British Tabloid daily Newspaper founded in 1903 The complaints are generally that eBay sometimes fails to respond when a claim is made. Since eBay makes its money on commissions from listings and sales, it may not be in eBay's interest to take action against large sellers.

Frauds that can be committed by sellers include:

• receiving payment and not shipping merchandise;
• shipping items other than those described;
• giving a deliberately misleading description;
• knowingly and deliberately shipping faulty merchandise;
• selling counterfeit or bootleg merchandise;
• knowingly selling stolen goods;
• inflating total bid amounts by bidding on their own auction with "shill" account(s), either the seller under an alternate account or another person in collusion with the seller (Shill bidding is prohibited by eBay and, in at least one high-profile case involving Kenneth Walton and his accomplices Kenneth Fetterman and Scott Beach has been prosecuted by the federal government as criminal fraud. A counterfeit is an imitation that is made usually with the intent to deceptively represent its content or origins A bootleg recording is an audio and/or Video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority A shill is an associate of a person selling goods or services or a political group who pretends no association to the seller/group and assumes the air of an enthusiastic customer Kenneth Andrew Walton (born November 23 1967) is an American software developer and author of the memoir Fake Forgery Lies & eBay, which details Kenneth Fetterman is a famous art Scam artist who occasionally partnered with Kenneth Walton to sell very expensive counterfeit art on rigged auctions on The federal government of the United States is the central United States Governmental body established by the United States Constitution. );
• misrepresenting the cost of shipping; and
• shipping at a slower service than that paid for. ^[57]

Frauds committed by buyers include:

• PayPal fraud, namely filing false shipping damage claim with the shipping company and with PayPal;
• credit card fraud, in the form of both stolen credit cards and fraudulent chargebacks;
• receiving merchandise and claiming otherwise;
• returning items other than received; and
• the buyer sending a forged payment-service e-mail that states that the buyer has made a payment to the seller's account (an unsuspecting seller may ship the item before realizing that the e-mail was forged). PayPal is an E-commerce business allowing payments and Money transfers to be made through the Internet. A credit card is part of a system of Payments named after the small Plastic card issued to users of the system

Fraud is combatted by:

• third-party businesses, such as CheckMEND, compiling lists of stolen goods from local authorities and businesses so eBay consumers can check to see whether the goods they are buying are stolen; and
• third-party software that could potentially eliminate eBay account hijacking by alerting users if they are being tricked into going to a bogus, or "spoof", Web site (see anti-phishing). In the field of computer security phishing is the Criminally Fraudulent process of attempting to acquire sensitive information such as usernames Passwords

Other controversial practices of users

• Sellers of inexpensive items may benefit from inflating the shipping cost while lowering the starting price for their auctions,^[58] because some buyers overlook the shipping cost when calculating the amount they are willing to spend. Since eBay charges their fees based on final sales price without including shipping, this allows sellers to reduce the amount they pay eBay in fees (and also allows buyers to reduce or avoid import fees and sales taxes). This is called "fee avoidance", and is prohibited by eBay policy,^[59] as are excessive shipping and handling charges. ^[60] A danger to the buyer in such cases is that in the event of defective merchandise, the seller may claim to have met his refund obligations by returning only the minimal purchase price and not the shipping costs.

• Sellers sometimes charge fees for use of PayPal as well to cover the fees that PayPal charges them. Although this is officially banned by eBay and PayPal (except in the UK) and is against some local laws as well as violating merchant agreements with Visa, MasterCard, and Discover (again, except in the UK), eBay does sometimes police for this and will suspend auctions where the seller requests an additional fee for taking PayPal. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located MasterCard Worldwide ( is a multinational corporation based in Purchase, New York, USA. The Discover Card is a major Credit card, issued primarily in the United States. PayPal is an E-commerce business allowing payments and Money transfers to be made through the Internet. This could lead inexperienced users to pay these illegal and unenforceable fees.

Stealing eBay accounts

According to Ofer Elzam from Aladdin Knowledge Systems Ltd. , there is a botnet which steals eBay accounts. Botnet is a Jargon term for a collection of Software robots or bots that run autonomously and automatically ^[61] The attacks use such techniques as compromising genuine websites with SQL injection, inserting IFrame code which redirects visitors to other sites which host a Trojan. SQL injection is a technique that exploits a Security vulnerability occurring in the Database layer of an application. IFrame (from Inline Frame) is an HTML element which makes it possible to embed an HTML document inside another HTML document Trojan-infected computers are used to provide a brute search for login/password pairs, using XML-formatted code to communicate with eBay servers directly.

Forgeries

It is estimated that about a quarter of all ancient coins and about two-thirds of all antiquities sold on eBay are modern forgeries. ^[62] In court papers introduced by attorney for Tiffany & Co. , it was claimed that researchers for Tiffany had determined that over 70% of the Tiffany silver jewelry offered for sale on eBay was fake. ^[63] In March 2008, Professional Coin Grading Service issued an alert noting counterfeit PCGS slabs and various United States and Chinese coins originating from China being sold on eBay. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common The Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS is a third party grading service for grading rare Coins It determines the condition and authenticity of each coin it grades to provide China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National ^[64]

Intellectual property in auctions

Holders of intellectual property rights, have claimed that eBay profits from the infringement of intellectual property rights. Intellectual property ( IP) is a legal field that refers to creations of the mind such as musical literary and artistic works inventions and symbols names eBay has responded by creating the Verified Rights Owner (VeRO) program, which provides to rightsholders expedited auction takedowns and private information on eBay users, but has likewise been criticized.

• In June 2004, the jeweler Tiffany & Co. sued eBay claiming that eBay profits from the sale of counterfeit Tiffany products. Tiffany & Co ( is a US jewelry and silverware company founded by Charles Lewis Tiffany and Teddy Young in New York City ^[65] As of July 2006, a trial date has not been set. ^[66]

• In September 2005, eBay's privacy practices relating to its VeRO program came under scrutiny when WNDU-TV reported that the Embroidery Software Protection Coalition was accusing United States buyers, identified by eBay, of copyright infringement, and demanding monetary settlements. WNDU-TV is a Television station in South Bend Indiana. The station is an affiliate of the NBC Television network. The Embroidery Software Protection Coalition (ESPC is a United States embroidery industry trade group. 'Copyright infringement' (or copyright violation) is the unauthorized use of material that is covered by Copyright law in a manner that violates eBay's privacy policy warns that eBay may disclose personal information on the request of any VeRO rightsholder investigating illegal activity;. ^[67] Although, according to a University of Notre Dame law professor, there is no legal basis, in the United States, for copyright infringement claims against buyers,^[68] eBay's VeRO program may have allowed the ESPC to obtain private information without judicial oversight. The University of Notre Dame du Lac (or simply Notre Dame) (ˌnoʊtɚˈdeɪm is a private Roman Catholic Research university located in

• Some manufacturers have abused eBay's VeRo program, through which copyright and trademark owners can quickly protect their rights, by seeking to prevent all sales of their products on eBay.

• In November 2006, a U. K. High Court ruled that a VeRO rightsholder's takedown request to eBay constituted a legal threat under design patent law. In the United States, a design patent is a Patent granted on the ornamental design of a functional item Since groundless legal threats under design patent law are unlawful, the ruling holds that groundless VeRO takedown requests based on design patents are also unlawful. Further, the text of the ruling appears critical of the VeRO program in general: "It is entirely wrong for owners of intellectual property rights to attempt to assert them without litigation, or without the threat of litigation, in reply. "^[69]

Romanian hacker "Vladuz" & website security

Beginning sometime in early 2007, a hacker reportedly in Romania going by the screen name "Vladuz" repeatedly breached eBay's security. As of April 17th, 2008, eBay and Romanian authorities have claimed to have caught "Vladuz". ^{[70][71][72][73]}

Other eBay controversies

Other notable controversies involving eBay include:

• In May 2000, eBay seller Kenneth Walton auctioned an oil painting on eBay for $135,805, due to speculation that it might be the work of California modernist Richard Diebenkorn. Kenneth Andrew Walton (born November 23 1967) is an American software developer and author of the memoir Fake Forgery Lies & eBay, which details Richard Clifford Diebenkorn Jr ( April 22 1922 – March 30, 1993) was a well-known 20th century American painter. Walton pretended to know nothing about art and claimed to be surprised by the price the painting fetched, and the auction attracted international media attention. In several investigative reports by The New York Times, it was revealed that Walton was in fact an experienced eBay art dealer with several unhappy customers, and that he had colluded with two other eBay sellers to bid up each other's auctions. The Times described this as a "shill bidding ring". ^[74] Walton and his cohorts were banned from eBay and subsequently pleaded guilty to fraud after a threat by the federal government of the first ever prosecution for shill bidding on eBay. A shill is an associate of a person selling goods or services or a political group who pretends no association to the seller/group and assumes the air of an enthusiastic customer

• On May 28, 2003, a U.S. District Court jury found eBay guilty of willful patent infringement and ordered the company to pay $35 million in damages. Events 585 BC - A Solar eclipse occurs as predicted by Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes is battling Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. The United States district courts are the general Trial courts of the United States federal court system. The plaintiff was MercExchange, which had accused eBay in 2000 of infringing on three patents (one of which is used in eBay's "Buy It Now" feature for fixed-price sales, 30 percent of eBay's business and growing). A plaintiff ( Π in Legal shorthand) also known as a claimant or complainant, is the party who initiates a Lawsuit MercExchange is a technology development and on-line auction company The decision was appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (CAFC). The United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit is a United States court of appeals and was created by Congress with passage of the Federal Courts Improvement The CAFC affirmed the judgment of willful infringement, and reversed the lower court and granted a permanent injunction. An injunction is an Equitable remedy in the form of a Court order, whereby a party is required to do or interact with in certain ways all right or to refrain from eBay appealed the permanent injunction to the U.S. Supreme Court, which on May 15, 2006 found an injunction is not required nor automatic in this or any patent case where guilt has been established. The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the federal judiciary. Events 1252 - Pope Innocent IV issues the Papal bull Ad exstirpanda, which authorizes but also limits the Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. The case was sent back to the Virginia district court for consideration of the injunction and a trial on another MercExchange patent the inventor claims covers the remaining 70 percent of eBay's business model (see eBay Inc. v. MercExchange, L.L.C. ^[75]). eBay Inc v MercExchange LLC, 547 US 388 (2006 is a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States unanimously determined that an Injunction This case has been particularly controversial since the patents involved are considered to be business method patents (see Software patent debate). Business method patents are a class of Patents which disclose and claim new Methods of doing business. Software patent debate is the argument dealing with the extent to which it should be possible to patent software and computer-implemented inventions as a matter of

• On July 28, 2003, eBay and its subsidiary PayPal agreed to pay a $10 million fine to settle allegations that they aided illegal offshore and online gambling. Events 1540 - Thomas Cromwell is executed at the order of Henry VIII of England on charges of Treason. Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. According to the settlement, between mid-2000 and November 2002, PayPal transmitted money in violation of various U. S. federal and state online gambling laws. ^[76] eBay's announcement of its acquisition of PayPal in early July said that PayPal would begin the process of exiting this market, and was already doing so when the ruling occurred. ^[77] These offenses occurred prior to eBay's purchase of PayPal.

• In late 2006, eBay effected a policy change which showed less information about bidders once auctions reached a certain value. This policy has been criticized for making shill bidding much harder to detect, to the potential disadvantage of buyers and significant advantage to unethical sellers who may artificially inflate the price of an auction. A shill is an associate of a person selling goods or services or a political group who pretends no association to the seller/group and assumes the air of an enthusiastic customer An investigation by The Sunday Times in January 2007 uncovered substantial evidence of shill bidding on eBay. ^[78]

• April 2007 lawsuit in California over monopoly practices. ^[79]

• An August 2007 class-action lawsuit in which attorney John Fabry stated, "eBay has been deceiving millions of consumers over the years by claiming their auctions start when submitted, when in reality they do not begin for at least several hours, and up to 24 hours. However, the clock starts running on your selected auction time even though eBay hasn't posted it yet. " ^[80]

• On January 29, 2008, a series of new policy changes were announced including an increase in the final value fee and a decrease in the listing fee (when averaged out, the fees actually cost sellers more). Events 904 - Sergius III comes out of retirement to take over the papacy from the deposed Antipope Christopher. 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common ^[81] Among the more controversial moves was the announcement that sellers would soon only be able to leave positive feedback for buyers, and would no longer have the ability to provide negative or neutral ratings regardless of the experience. ^[82] The policies also give greater benefits to higher volume sellers. eBay now explicitly gives higher volume "Powersellers" a 5% to 15% discount on the final value fees. These sellers can also receive better terms on shipping costs and preferential positioning in search results. ^[83]

• On February 18, 2008, sellers and buyers who felt the new fees and feedback structure were unfair commenced a one-week strike against eBay. Events 3102 BC - Epoch (origin of the Kali Yuga. 1229 - The Sixth Crusade: Frederick II Holy 2008 ( MMVIII) is the current year in accordance with the Gregorian calendar, a Leap year that started on Tuesday of the Common The eBay Boycott of 2008 was a strike against EBay commenced on February 18, 2008 by users in objection to eBay's updated fee structure and feedback policy

• In April 2008, eBay announced it was suing Craigslist to "safeguard its four-year financial investment". International holidays and other major events April 1 - April Fools' Day April 4 - Qingming Festival (Mainland Craigslist is a central network of online communities featuring free online classified advertisements – with jobs internships housing personals, erotic eBay claimed that in January 2008, Craigslist executives took actions that "unfairly diluted eBay's economic interest by more than 10%". PortalCurrent events International holidays January 1 - New Year's Day January 1 - Independence Craigslist is a central network of online communities featuring free online classified advertisements – with jobs internships housing personals, erotic ^[84] In response, Craigslist filed a countersuit against eBay in May 2008 "to remedy the substantial and ongoing harm to fair competition" that Craigslist claims is constituted by eBay's actions as Craigslist shareholders. Craigslist is a central network of online communities featuring free online classified advertisements – with jobs internships housing personals, erotic ^[85]

Prohibited or restricted Items

In its earliest days, eBay was essentially unregulated. However, as the site grew, it became necessary to restrict or forbid auctions for various items. Note that some of the restrictions relate to eBay. com (the US site), while other restrictions apply to specific European sites (such as Nazi paraphernalia). Regional laws and regulations may apply to the seller or the buyer. Among the hundred or so banned or restricted categories:

• Tobacco (tobacco-related items and collectibles are accepted. Tobacco is an Agricultural product recognized as an addictive drug processed from the fresh Leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. )^[86]
• Alcohol (alcohol-related collectibles, including sealed containers, as well as some wine sales by licensed sellers are allowed)^[87]
• Drugs and drug paraphernalia^[88]
• Nazi paraphernalia^[89]
• Bootleg recordings^[90]
• Firearms and ammunition,^[91] including any parts that could be used to assemble a firearm as well as (as of July 30, 2007) any firearm part that is required for the firing of a gun, including bullet tips, brass casings and shells, barrels, slides, cylinders, magazines, firing pins, trigger assemblies, etc. The prohibition of drugs through sumptuary Legislation or Religious law is a common means of attempting to control Drug use and the Nazism, which was a short name for National Socialism (Nationalsozialismus refers primarily to the Ideology and practices of the National Socialist German A bootleg recording is an audio and/or Video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority A firearm is a Tool that projects either single or multiple Projectiles at high velocity through a controlled explosion Ammunition, often referred to as ammo, is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which Crossbows and various types of knives are also forbidden
• Used underwear (see Panty fetishism) and dirty used clothing^[92]
• Teachers' editions of textbooks including homeschool teacher's editions. A crossbow is a Weapon consisting of a bow mounted on a stock that shoots projectiles often called bolts Undergarments are clothes worn under other clothes often next to the skin Panty fetishism is the belief that Panties (or female underwear contain an intrinsic sexual power A textbook is a manual of instruction or a standard book in any branch of study ^[93][94]
• Human parts and remains (with an exception for skeletons and skulls for scientific study, provided they are not Native American in origin)^[95]
• Live animals (with certain exceptions)^[96]
• Certain copyrighted works or trademarked items. Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples from the regions of North America now encompassed by the continental United States ^[97]
• Lock-picking tools, accessories, and practice locks fall into the category of burglar tools.
• Lottery tickets, sweepstakes tickets, or any other gambling items.
• Military hardware such as working weapons or explosives.
• Virtual items from massively multiplayer online games, restrictions which vary by country^[98][99]
• Many other items are either wholly prohibited or restricted in some manner. ^[100]
• Non-physical items no longer can be sold through eBay. They can only be advertised through classified ads on eBay and do not get feedback. ^[101]

Unusual sale items

• In February 2004, a scrapped F/A-18 Hornet fighter jet was listed on eBay by Mike Landa, of Landa and Associates, with a starting bid of $1,000,000. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout He was the legal owner of the plane after purchasing it from a scrap yard and also offered to have the plane restored for flying condition for a Buy It Now price of $9,000,000. Landa also told potential buyers that maintenance of the plane would cost roughly $40,000 a month for just 2 to 3 hours of flying time. The FBI told Landa that he can only sell the plane to an American citizen residing in the United States and that the plane must not leave US airspace. The auction ended without a sale because nobody could come up with the money. ^[102][103]
• In January of 2006, a British man named Leigh Knight, sold an unwanted Brussels sprout left over from his Christmas dinner for £1550 in aid of cancer research. ^[104][105]
• In May of 2006, a Chinese businessman named Zhang Cheng bought a former Czech Air Force MIG-21 fighter jet from a seller in the United States for $24,730. WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft. Please see WikipediaWikiProject Aircraft/page content for recommended layout It is not known whether the Chinese government will allow the plane to be delivered. ^[106]
• In June of 2005, the wife of Tim Shaw, a British radio DJ on Kerrang! 105.2, sold Tim's Lotus Esprit sports car with a Buy It Now price of 50 pence after she heard him flirting with model Jodie Marsh on air. Kerrang! Radio is a specialist Rock music radio station broadcasting to the West Midlands in England. Early Esprit (1976–80 S1 The Esprit was launched in October 1975 at the Paris motorshow and went into production in June 1976 replacing the Europa in the Jodie Louisa Marsh (born 23 December 1978) is an English Glamour model and Television personality. The car was sold within 5 minutes, and it was requested that the buyer pick it up the same day. ^[107]
• In May of 2005, a Volkswagen Golf that had previously been registered to Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (who had been made Pope Benedict XVI) was sold on eBay's German site for €188,938. The Volkswagen Golf or VW Golf ( Mk1 and Mk5 badged as Volkswagen Rabbit in the United States and Canada, Mk1 badged as Volkswagen Pope Benedict XVI ( Latin: Benedictus PP XVI; Italian: Benedetto XVI; German: Benedikt XVI; born Joseph Alois Ratzinger 88 ($277,171. 12 USD). The winning bid was made by the GoldenPalace.com online casino, known for their outrageous eBay purchases. GoldenPalacecom is an Online casino, hosted at Mohawk Internet Technologies which is located in the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory A casino is in the modern sense of the word a facility that houses and accommodates certain types of Gambling activities ^[108]
• A seaworthy 16,000-ton aircraft carrier, formerly the British HMS Vengeance, was listed early in 2004. Service history Vengeance left for the Far East to reinforce the British Pacific Fleet. The auction was removed when eBay determined that the vessel qualified as ordnance, even though all weapons systems had been removed. ^[109]
• Water that was said to have been left in a cup Elvis Presley once drank from was sold for $455. The few tablespoons came from a plastic cup Presley sipped at a concert in North Carolina in 1977. North Carolina ( is a state located on the Atlantic Seaboard in the southeastern United States ^[110]
• A Coventry University student got £1. 20 for a single cornflake. ^[111]
• A man from Brisbane, Australia, attempted to sell New Zealand at a starting price of $. Brisbane ( is the state capital of Queensland. Brisbane is the third most populous city in Australia and the most populous city of Queensland For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island 01AUD. The Australian dollar ( sign: $; code: AUD) is the Currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas The price had risen to $3,000 before eBay closed the auction. ^[112]
• An Australian newspaper reported in December of 2004 that a single piece of the Kellogg's breakfast cereal Nutri-Grain sold on eBay for AUD$1,035 because it happened to bear a slight resemblance to the character E.T. from the Steven Spielberg movie. Kellogg Company (often referred to as simply Kellogg or Kellogg's, or even more formally Kellogg's of Battle Creek) is an American multinational This article is about the 1982 film For the term "ET" which redirects here see ET. Steven Allan Spielberg, KBE (Hon (born December 18 1946 is an American Film director, Screenwriter and producer. Apparently the seller went on to make even more money in relation to the sale for his appearance on a nationally televised current affairs program. ^[113]
• One of the tunnel boring machines involved in the construction of the Channel Tunnel was auctioned on eBay in 2004. A tunnel boring machine ( TBM) is a machine used to excavate Tunnels with a circular cross section through a variety of soil and rock strata. The Channel Tunnel (Le tunnel sous la Manche also known as the Chunnel, is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in England with ^[114]
• A group of four men from Australia auctioned themselves to spend the weekend with the promise of "beers, snacks, good conversation and a hell of a lot of laughs" for AU$1,300^[115]
• Disney sold a retired Monorail Red (Mark IV Monorail) for $20,000^[116]
• The German Language Association sold the German language to call attention for the growing influence of Pidgin-English in modern German. A monorail is a transportation system based on a single beam The term is also used variously to describe the beam of the system or the vehicles travelling on such a beam or ^[117]
• In late November 2005, the original Hollywood Sign was sold on eBay for $450,400. The Hollywood Sign is a famous Landmark in the Hollywood Hills area of Los Angeles California, spelling out the name of the area in high white letters ^[118][119]
• In January of 2007, a cooked but uneaten Brussel Sprout was sold on eBay, finishing at over £15,000 ($29,000)^[120] . This article is about the plant For the pencil game see Sprouts (game.
• In February of 2007, after Britney Spears shaved all of her hair off in a Los Angeles salon, it was listed on eBay for $1million USD before it was taken down. Britney Jean Spears (born December 2 1981 is an American recording artist and entertainer ^[121]
• Bridgeville, California (pop. Bridgeville is an unincorporated Town in Humboldt County 420 km (250 miles north of San Francisco in California, 25) was the first town to be sold on eBay in 2002, and has been up for sale 3 times since. ^[122]
• Boston Red Sox left fielder Manny Ramírez attempted to sell his neighbor's JENN-AIR Gas Grill on eBay. Manuel "Manny" Aristides Ramírez Onelcida (born May 30 1972 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic) is a Dominican-American professional The auction started at $3,000 and the price escalated to an astounding $99,999,999, the maximum amount allowed by eBay. The auction was later closed by eBay because of the promise of an autographed baseball going to the winner as well as the grill; it is a violation of eBay policy to include items other than those advertised. ^[123]
• In April of 2005, American entrepreneur Matt Rouse sold the right to choose a new middle name for him. After receiving an $8,000 "Buy It Now" bid, the Utah courts refused to allow the name change. He currently still has his original middle name "Jean". ^[124]
• In 2004, a partially-eaten, 10-year-old grilled cheese sandwich said to bear the image of the Virgin Mary sold on eBay for $28,000. ^[125]
• In January of 2008, four golf balls were auctioned on eBay after being surgically removed from the carpet python which had inadvertently swallowed them whilst raiding eggs in a chicken enclosure. Common names carpet python Northwestern carpet python more. Morelia spilota variegata is a non-venomous python The story attracted considerable international attention and the balls eventually sold for more AUD$1,400. The python recovered and was released. ^[126]
• In May of 2008, Paul Osborn of UK puts his wife Sharon for sale in eBay alleging that she had an affair with a coworker. ^[127]

Charity auctions

Using MissionFish as an arbiter, eBay allows sellers to donate a portion of their auction proceeds to a charity of the seller's choice. Some high-profile charity auctions have been advertised on the eBay home page, and have raised large amounts of money in a short time. For example, a furniture manufacturer raised over $35,000 for Ronald McDonald House by auctioning off beds that had been signed by celebrities. A Ronald McDonald House (named after Ronald McDonald) is a place where the parents of children that are in a nearby Hospital can stay at night for reduced or no cost

To date, the highest successful bid for a single item for charity was a letter sent to the owner of Clear Channel by United States Senator Harry Reid and forty other Democratic senators to have a talk with conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh. Clear Channel Communications is a media conglomerate company based in the United States. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The United States Senate is the Upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the Lower house being the House of Representatives Harry Mason Reid (born December 2 1939 is the senior United States Senator from Nevada and a member of the Democratic Party, as well as The Democratic Party is one of two major Political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party. The United States Senate is the Upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the Lower house being the House of Representatives Conservatism is a term used to describe political philosophies that favour Tradition, where tradition refers to various religious cultural or nationally defined Rush Hudson Limbaugh III (born January 12, 1951) is an American radio host and conservative Political commentator. The winning bid was $2,100,100, with 100% of the proceeds going to the Marine Corps-Law Enforcement Foundation, benefiting the education of children of men and women who have died serving in the armed forces. The winning bid was matched by Limbaugh in his largest charity donation to date.

Customer support

eBay offers various online help features, including a library of self-help resources, e-mail contact forms and "Live Help," which lets users chat with customer service representatives via instant messaging. Although this is not available to users on international sites such as eBay. co. uk, members of international eBay Web sites are welcome to utilize eBay. com's Live Help service. eBay does offer some phone support to its customers although this is limited to sellers of the rank "Bronze PowerSeller" and above, the company's term for members who sell at least an average of $1,000 worth of goods per month on the site, as well as to eBay Store owners.

Environmental record

On May 8th, 2008, eBay announced the opening of its newest building on the company's North Campus in San Jose, which is the first structure in the city to be built from the ground up to LEED Gold Standards. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design ( LEED) Green Building Rating System developed by the U ^[128] The building, the first the company has built new in its 13-year existence, utilizes a solar panel array comprised of 3,248 solar panels, spanning 60,000 square feet, and providing 650 kilowatts of power to eBay's campus. ^[129][130] All told the array can supply the company with 15-18 percent of its total energy requirements, reducing the amount of greenhouse gases that would be produced to create that energy by other means. Greenhouse gases are gaseous constituents of the atmosphere bothnatural and anthropogenic that absorb and emit radiation at specific wavelengths within the spectrum of thermal infrared ^[131] SolarCity, the company responsible for designing the array, estimates that the solar panels installed on eBay's campus will prevent 37 million pounds of carbon dioxide from being released into the environment as a result of replaced power production over the next three decades. SolarCity is a provider of Solar energy system design financing installation and related services based in Foster City California. Carbon dioxide ( Chemical formula:) is a Chemical compound composed of two Oxygen Atoms covalently bonded to a single ^[132] Creating an equivalent impact to remove the same amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere would require planting 322 acres of trees. ^[133] The design of the building also incorporates other elements to reduce its impact on the environment. The building is equipped with a lighting system that detects natural ambient light sources and automatically dims artificial lighting to save 39 percent of the power usually required to light an office building. ^[134] eBay's newest building also reduces demand on local water supplies by incorporating an eco-friendly irrigation system, low-flow shower heads, and low-flow faucets. ^[135] Even during construction, more than 75 percent of the waste from construction was recycled. ^[136] eBay also runs buses between San Francisco and the San Jose campus to reduce the number of commuting employees. ^[137]

See also

• Electronic commerce

Notes and references

Further reading

• Cihlar, Christopher (2006). The Grilled Cheese Madonna and 99 Other of the Weirdest, Wackiest, Most Famous eBay Auctions Ever. Random House. ISBN 0-7679-2374-X.  
• Cohen, Adam (2002). The Perfect Store: Inside eBay. Little, Brown & Company. ISBN 0-316-15048-7.  
• Collier, Marsha (2004). eBay For Dummies. John Wiley. ISBN 0-7645-5654-1.  
• Hillis, Ken and Michael Petit with Nathan Epley (2006). Everyday eBay: Culture, Collecting and Desire. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-97436-4.  
• Jackson, Eric M. (2004). The PayPal Wars: Battles with eBay, the Media, the Mafia, and the Rest of Planet Earth. World Ahead Publishing. ISBN 0-9746701-0-3.  
• Kent, Peter & Finlayson, Jill (2005). Fundraising on eBay. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-226248-6.  
• Klink, Edward & Klink, Stephen (2005). Dawn of the eBay Deadbeats: True Tales of Treachery, Lies, and Fraud from the Dark Recesses of the World's Largest Online Auction Marketplace. Mooncusser Media. ISBN 0-9768372-1-8.  
• Nissanoff, Daniel (2006). FutureShop: How the New Auction Culture Will Revolutionize the Way We Buy, Sell and Get the Things We Really Want. The Penguin Press. ISBN 1-59420-077-7.  
• Spencer, Christopher Matthew (2006). The eBay Entrepreneur. Kaplan Publishing. ISBN 1-4195-8328-X.  
• Walton, Kenneth (2006). FAKE: Forgery, Lies, & eBay. Simon Spotlight Entertainment. ISBN 1-4169-0711-4.  
• Ford, Michael (2007). Scams & Scoundrels: Protect yourself from the dark side of eBay. Elite Minds Inc. ISBN 978-0-9774760-2-2.  
• Ford, Michael (2007). Dont Bid On It: Until I Tell You How eBay Really Works. Elite Minds Inc. ISBN 978-0-9774760-1-5.  

External links

• eBay.com
• eBay Motors
• eBay Support
• Editorial publication that covers eBay and the online auction industry since 1999 Auctionbytes.com
• eBay-Magazin, independent German magazine about eBay, published by Gruner + Jahr
• Israeli eBay Trade Center, independent Israeli site about eBay, published by Eli Shimony

Gruner + Jahr GmbH & Co KG is the largest European printing and publishing firm

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