eBay Profile
eBay Inc. (eBay) operates as a global commerce leader that connects people and builds communities to create economic opportunity for all.
The company’s technology empowers millions of buyers and sellers in more than 190 markets around the world, providing everyone the opportunity to grow and thrive. The company’s Marketplace platforms, including the company’s online marketplace located at www.ebay.com and its localized counterparts, the company’s off-platform businesses in Japan and the United States, and the company’s suite of mobile apps, together, create one of the world's largest and most vibrant marketplaces for discovering great value and unique selection.
Strategy
As a global commerce leader and third-party marketplace, the company’s technologies and services are designed to provide buyers choice and a breadth of relevant inventory from around the globe, and to enable sellers’ access to eBay’s 132 million buyers worldwide. The company earns revenue primarily through fees collected on paid sales, inclusive of payment processing and first-party advertising.
eBay’s strategy is to leverage technology to enhance the marketplace experience for the company’s customers to drive growth in Gross Merchandise Volume (‘GMV’), while increasing the rate of revenue growth through the company’s advertising initiatives and delivering healthy operating margins. Beginning in 2020, the company embarked on a multi-year journey to build more compelling category experiences for enthusiastic consumers, to become the partner of choice for sellers and to strengthen trust in relationships with buyers on the company’s Marketplace platforms. In 2023, the company evolved its strategy to focus on reinventing the future of ecommerce for enthusiasts. The company derived a majority of GMV in 2023 from the following product categories: parts & accessories, collectibles, fashion, electronics, and home & garden.
The company is focused on growing its first-party advertising revenue through its suite of Promoted Listings products while reducing the company’s focus on non-strategic, third-party advertising. The company offers several Promoted Listings products, including Promoted Listings Standard (a cost-per-acquisition product), Promoted Listings Express (a cost-per-acquisition product for auction listings), Promoted Listings Advanced (a cost-per-click product) and External Promoted Listings (an off-platform advertising product). Through the company’s portfolio of Promoted Listings offerings, the company provides sellers with data-driven recommendations to improve their conversion and drive velocity, while testing and building more technology features to drive growth, position eBay as the seller’s platform of choice and surface relevant inventory to buyers.
The company has acquired, and also disposed of, a significant number of businesses, technologies, services and products, and the company maintains investments in certain businesses. The company regularly reviews and manages its investments to ensure they support eBay’s strategic direction and complement the company’s disciplined approach to value creation, profitability and capital allocation.
Customer Offerings
The company provides a number of features for its sellers and buyers that align with the company’s approach to becoming the partner of choice for sellers and building life-long, trusted buyer relationships. These offerings are designed to build trust and confidence on the company’s Marketplace platforms and drive GMV.
To become the partner of choice for sellers, the company continuously invests in technology to deliver quality selling experiences and products to grow the seller tools ecosystem. The company’s new magical listing experience offers an artificial intelligence (‘AI’) driven description for all listings across the company’s Marketplace platforms — desktop, mobile and app — reducing the time to list and enhance seller experience. In 2023, the company expanded its Promoted Listings offerings to help the company’s sellers drive greater velocity and price realization for their inventory. The company also expanded the eBay International Shipping program for United States sellers surfacing millions of listings to buyers across more than 190 countries while removing the friction of international shipping and customs formalities.
To further strengthen the company’s buyers’ confidence and trust in the company’s services, the company offers ‘eBay Money Back Guarantee,’ which allows buyers to receive their money back if the item they ordered does not arrive, is faulty or damaged or does not match the listing. eBay Money Back Guarantee covers most items purchased on the eBay Marketplace platform in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia, Canada, France, Italy and Spain through a qualifying payment method. In addition, eBay authenticates eligible luxury and collectible items in five categories through ‘Authenticity Guarantee’, an independent authentication service available in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Australia and Canada. In the company’s parts & accessories category, the company focused on fitment to ensure that automotive enthusiasts are able to find the right parts to fit their vehicles by integrating the acquired technical capabilities of MyFitment onto the company’s platforms. The company also continues to expand its eBay Refurbished offering, a dedicated destination that brings inventory from pre-selected brands and top rated sellers with standardized condition grading, to meet consumer demand for top products backed by a warranty.
As of December 31, 2023, eBay had 132 million active buyers and approximately 2.0 billion live listings globally.
Intellectual Property
The company regards the protection of its intellectual property, including the company’s trademarks (particularly those covering the eBay name), patents, copyrights, domain names, trade dress and trade secrets as critical to the company’s success.
History
eBay Inc. was founded in 1995. The company was incorporated in California in 1996. In 1998, the company was reincorporated in Delaware.
