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Ebay Inc. ( Ebay )

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EBay Inc. (EBAY) is a leading global commerce platform that enables individuals and businesses to buy and sell products online. Over the past 20 years, it has become one of the largest online marketplaces, with over 159 million active users around the world and more than 800 million items for sale. EBay’s vision is “one that is enabled by people, powered by technology, and open to everyone” (What We Do). EBay runs a more decentralized commerce system than Amazon and other e-commerce companies. Their purpose is to act as a facilitator of peer-to-peer commerce rather than maintain their own inventory and sell directly to consumers. This gives more power to eBay marketplace sellers and allows for both auctions and fixed price sales. (EBay vs Amazon) With new startups on the rise such as Etsy, SellSimple, and Threadflip, along with e-commerce veterans such as Amazon or Alibaba, eBay has to continuously work to improve its services to maintain its sellers and continue to attract a larger consumer base. (Thomas) Using information technology and improved information systems has helped eBay achieve their goals and differentiate the platform in an increasingly competitive market.
In September 1995, eBay founder Pierre Omidyar launched AuctionWeb, an open marketplace for buyers and sellers. Working alone for almost a year, Omidyar hired his first employee in June 1996, and by July, AuctionWeb had already sold $7.2 million worth of merchandise. In September 1998, eBay went public.

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