We’ve all probably used eBay at some point, whether it’s to pick up a cheap iPhone cover, vintage fashion must-have or one of the millions other items for sale.

But beyond the bids, here’s a closer look into the online bargain behemoth.

Early days

Ebay was founded in 1995 as a hobby by computer programmer Pierre Omidyar. The first item ever sold on eBay was a laser pointer, which went for US$14.83.

These days eBay is a billion dollar business that lists millions of items.

Australian story

The platform is a hit with Aussie shoppers, with eBay Australia seeing over 4.8 million monthly unique visitors.

But what’s really impressive is the time each visitor spend on site: an impressive two hours every month.

This is miles ahead of Yahoo!7 (1.03 hours), Google (54 minutes), and YouTube (37 minutes).

And with over 1 million cars currently listed, eBay Motors is Australia’s largest auto sales site.

Snapshot

The sheer amount of stuff for sale on eBay is astonishing.

A car is sold every 10 minutes on the site, while laptops trade hands every seven minutes.

On eBay a DVD is snapped up every 20 seconds, a toy every 10 seconds and a piece of women’s clothing is sold every nine seconds.

Money pit

Ebay currently has over 33,500 employees and operates in over 30 countries worldwide. 

In 2013 eBay declared US$41.49 billion in assets and a tidy US$16.05 billion in revenue.

Odd lot

While there have been many unusual items listed on eBay over the years, the previously undiscovered species of sea urchin, Coelopleurus exquisitus, ranks as one of the most unique.

And for the record souls, ghosts, and other “items whose existence cannot be verified” are prohibited for sale on eBay.

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