Pierre Omidyar launched eBay in 1995 as an online auction website.
The service initially operated as AuctionWeb, a project on Omidyar’s personal website. Its first auction was for a broken laser pointer, which sold for $14.83. The early model allowed people to list items and let buyers bid against one another online.
The company was originally part of Omidyar’s consulting business, Echo Bay Technology Group. In 1997, AuctionWeb adopted the eBay name, derived from Echo Bay; the shorter domain name was used because echobay.com was already taken.
eBay is sometimes confused with Amazon because both began as major online marketplaces, but their original models differed. eBay centered on person-to-person auctions, while Amazon began primarily as an online bookstore and later expanded into marketplace retail.