Pierre Omidyar launched eBay in 1995 as an auction website called AuctionWeb.
Omidyar created AuctionWeb while developing a larger personal website. The first item sold was a broken laser pointer, purchased by a buyer who reportedly said he collected such items. The early service allowed users to list goods and bid against one another, with the platform collecting fees from transactions.
AuctionWeb later became known as eBay, a name derived from Echo Bay Technology Group, Omidyar’s consulting company. The service expanded beyond auctions into fixed-price sales and became a major online marketplace. The site’s growth helped establish online person-to-person commerce as a mainstream business model.