eBay Inc

Few businesses have demonstrated the unique benefits of the internet as thoroughly as eBay, a highly profitable combination of peer-to-peer shopping network and traditional auction house which matches buyers and sellers from almost 40 countries around the globe. Anything legal can be bought and sold on eBay, from low-priced mainstream consumer products to the most obscure collectors' items or even the totally bizarre. Gross value of goods sold during 2008 was almost $60bn, and the community includes more than 86m active users worldwide. Its impressive profit margins have made eBay one of the world's most valuable internet businesses, second only to Google.

EBay has shrugged off competition from rival online auctioneers to dominate its sector in virtually every country in which it operates. The question now is how it will continue to deliver growth. International expansion is key. EBay has an unrivalled global profile, although it has been forced to concede key markets such as China and Japan to local competitors. The company also made several key acquisitions designed to allow it to move aggressively into personal communications (through Skype), consumer finance (through Paypal) or traditional online retail (through Shopping.com). The Skype purchase proved to be one of eBay's comparatively few missteps because of the failure to establish meaningful synergies with its core business. It sold a controlling stake in Skype in 2009. Advertising Age estimated global measured advertising expenditure of $305m in 2007, making eBay the world's #100 advertiser.

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Competitors: See Media Sector and Retail Sector for other companies.

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eBay website

Paypal	Auction.co.kr
Skype	MercadoLibre.com
Shopping.com	Rent.com
Half.com	Kijiji
LoQUo.com	GumTree.com

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