Absolute Beginner’s Guide to eBay®, Fifth Edition

Chapter . Introduction

eBay is a true phenomenon.

In 2007, eBay transactions defined a new economy worth more than $59 billion. Read that number again; it’s not a misprint. Fifty-nine billion dollars. That’s $59 billion in sales that didn’t exist before eBay. Fifty-nine billion dollars of transactions that appeared seemingly out of thin air. Fifty-nine billion dollars in merchandise that wouldn’t have been sold otherwise.

Where did that $59 billion come from? It came from you and from me and from 248 million other people around the world who log on to the eBay site to buy and to sell all manner of merchandise. Before eBay, there was no global marketplace for the 248 million of us; there was no way to buy and to sell that $59 billion of ...