People barely realize what eBay is really about after 28 years

After 28 years, it has emerged that many people are only now discovering the real meaning behind the name of the well-known online marketplace, eBay.

Originally launched as AuctionWeb in September 1995, the American multinational e-commerce corporation was the brainchild of Pierre Omidyar, who set out to establish a site “dedicated to bringing buyers and sellers together in an honest and open marketplace.” Pierre himself became the first seller on the platform, listing for sale a broken laser pointer, which, to his delight, was purchased by the Canadian Mark Fraser.

Around this time, a rumor spread that suggested Pierre created the website to help his wife with her collection of Pez candy dispensers. This anecdote was denied by eBay, with a spokesperson clarifying: “It is revealed that the story was fabricated.”

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In just one year, AuctionWeb has seen $7.2 million worth of goods sold through its platform, marking the start of its meteoric rise, the Express reports.

The “beanie babies craze” hit about 10 months later, and eBay found itself at the center of the storm. The company reported: “Beanie Babies, Ty Warner’s line of cuddly animals, are taking the world by storm. $500 million worth is sold on eBay alone, representing more than 6% of our total volume.”

In a surprising turn of events, AuctionWeb renamed itself eBay in September 1997, leaving many internet users puzzled as to the reason behind the change. This prompted a confused Quora user to ask, “What is the full form of eBay? , while another asked: “, while another asked: “What does the name eBay mean?”.

The company revealed that it adopted the name eBay after Echo Bay Technology Group, which was Pierre’s consulting firm. However, since the domain name echobay.com had already been taken over by a gold mining company called Echo Bay Mines, Pierre decided to shorten it to eBay.com.

As of May 2024, with a market capitalization of $25.36 billion, eBay ranks as the 782nd most valuable company in the world, according to Companies Market Cap.