SUPERBRANDS ANNUAL 2013
EBAY
Superbrands.uk.com
Brand History
 1995: An online auction website
is founded, AuctionWeb in San Jose,
California, by French-born Iranian
computer programmer Pierre Omidyar.
He writes the code for what he calls
an ‘experiment’, wondering what
would happen if everyone in the
world had equal access to a single
global marketplace.
 1996: Revenue tops US$10,000 in just
Far from an online auction house, eBay is the world’s largest online marketplace, with over
100 million active users globally. It has more than 60 million live listings on eBay.co.uk,
with over 17 million unique users visiting the site every month. Sellers of all sizes, including
190,000 registered businesses and more than 100 high-street retailers, use eBay as an
additional sales channel to reach the UK’s largest online shopping audience.
a single month.
 1997: The AuctionWeb brand is
replaced by the newly named eBay –
hosting more than 200,000 individual
auctions per month and a feedback star
system is introduced.
 1998: eBay expands
internationally with sites in the United
Kingdom, Germany and Australia.
 1998: eBay launches the eBay
foundation and lists shares on
NASDAQ under the symbol EBAY.
The personalisation tool ‘My eBay’
makes its debut.
 2000: eBay starts the new decade as
the number one ecommerce site and also
acquires PayPal.
 2001: eBay expands internationally
with sites in Ireland, Italy, Korea, New
Zealand, Singapore and Switzerland.
Achievements
eBay is a remarkably efficient marketplace,
created by connecting individuals who wouldn’t
otherwise be connected. It was the world’s
first example of online social networking.
While sceptics questioned whether people
would trust doing business with strangers
online, Pierre firmly believed that people are
basically good, and that any issues would be
worked out within the community.
Since then, eBay has grown to have a presence
in 39 markets (including partnerships and
investments) with more than 100 million
eBay.com users worldwide, trading more
than US$2,100 worth of goods each second.
Market
Product
eBay connects a diverse and passionate
The online marketplace is a highly competitive
Founded in 1995 in San Jose by Pierre
community of buyers and sellers.
and fast growing platform. Technology plays
Omidyar, eBay is a global commerce
Their collective impact on
a pivotal role in shaping how people shop and
platform and payments leader,
Did You Know?
ecommerce is staggering
in the future will mean shopping becomes
connecting millions of buyers
Each month, eBay
and increasingly it is mobile
increasingly data driven and personalised.
and sellers. eBay.co.uk is
has around as many
technology which defines
The global retail market is in a period of
owned by eBay Inc, which
visitors in the UK
commerce, with US$13 billion
transformation – soon to be
includes a range of brands
as London’s Oxford
of transactions on eBay mobile
worth US$10 trillion globally
that help consumers
Street.
in 2012 – more than double the
– with consumers enjoying
find and purchase the
Did You Know?
previous year.
unprecedented levels of
goods they want. eBay
access and convenience.
allows users to buy and
The oldest pair of
In 2012, eBay Inc. enabled more than
eBay aims to place itself
sell in nearly every country
Levis in existence sold
US$175 billion of commerce volume; 19 per
at the centre of this
on earth; through PayPal, which
on eBay for US$46,532.
cent of global ecommerce and almost 2 per
consumer led revolution;
enables individuals and businesses
A woman’s handbag
cent of total global retail.
a brand that blends the
to securely, easily and quickly
sells on eBay every
best of offline and online
send and receive digital payments;
three seconds.
In 2002, the eBay community made it clear
shopping and delivers
and through GSI, which facilitates
that they preferred using PayPal as an online
products and experiences that
ecommerce, multichannel retailing and
payment method. So eBay acquired PayPal,
define a new way of shopping.
digital marketing for global enterprise.
45881_SBA2013_054-055_eBay.indd 54
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 2003: eBay is listed as number
eight on Fortune’s list of Fastest
Growing Companies.
which brought new efficiencies to ecommerce
and redefined possibilities for eBay’s future.
The company has since expanded by acquiring
innovative businesses such as Shopping.com,
StubHub, Bill Me Later and others, which have
positioned the company as the global leader in
ecommerce and payments.
Recent Developments
In an ecommerce world,
eBay does not believe in
limitation by locality, instead
it supports consumer
convenience – an ability
to buy products anytime,
anywhere – with the buying
and selling experience
made as simple as possible.
As a brand, eBay
is committed to
revolutionising the way people shop, by
providing consumers with a bespoke selection
and new ways to assist in making choices that
feel authentic and natural. With this in mind it
has moved towards delivering a cleaner, more
contemporary look, one built around intuitive
and flexible ways to browse, decide and buy –
both globally and locally – offering a new way
to curate an individual shopping experience.
45881_SBA2013_054-055_eBay.indd 55
Promotion
This new look and feel continues to roll
out globally and includes a new brand
logo, reflecting eBay’s ongoing evolution
as a marketplace that connects the world
– anytime, anywhere.
eBay believes that the future of commerce
is multi-channel – via any connected screen.
Consumers want to be
able to move seamlessly
across devices, through
any shopping environment;
a laptop, a phone, a tablet
or TV, a store window,
kiosk, or fitting room –
all recognising who the
consumer is and what
they want. This is eBay’s
vision of how consumers
will connect to the things
they want and love, not online or offline, just
shopping, anytime, anywhere.
Brand Values
Pierre Omidyar founded eBay on a simple idea:
people are basically good. This fundamental
belief created a completely new kind of
marketplace, forever transforming ecommerce.
Today these values continue to guide how eBay
 2005: eBay acquires leading
international classified advertising
site Gumtree.
 2008: eBay launches its iPhone
application and is listed as one of
Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to
Work For.
 2009: eBay sells Skype for US$2.75
billion, but retains a 30 per cent stake.
 2010: The eBay community raises
more than US$1 million for charity;
PayPal donations total US$4.5 million.
eBay kicks off a series of events called
eBay: On Location to help small
businesses and part-time sellers.
 2011: eBay Inc. completes the
acquisition of brands4friends, Germany’s
largest online shopping club for fashion
and lifestyle. eBay is named one of the
world’s most ethical companies by the
Ethisphere Institute.
does business, connecting buyers and sellers
around the world.
 www.ebay.co.uk
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