It is so easy to take things for granted. That is especially true these days, when everything seems to come so easily and so quickly. I think we can all thank progress for that, especially in terms of technology and things that are connected with it. Of course we cannot stop progress, there’s no point or reason in trying to move things from moving forward. What we must have though is the proper understanding and appreciation for everything that we have right now. One good way of doing that is through never neglecting the need to look back and see where we came from, and where certain things started from.
One good example of that would be the Internet. Today, almost anything is already possible with the Internet, but one of the most important and has made one of the biggest is how people can conduct commerce through it. Yes, buying and selling goods has never been this easy, and we can all thank the Internet for that. A website such as eBay has provided an excellent means for people to do that, and in turn it has grown considerably. But isn’t nice to think, just before you make your next purchase on eBay, how it all started for the company. Or better yet, to learn what was the very first item sold on eBay.
What Started It All
The story of eBay all started back in 1995, when one of the world’s largest online shopping and auction websites was initially launched. From its original set-time auction format, it has been able to expand so much that it is now a billion dollar business that is popular the world over. Pierre Omidyar, a computer programmer of Iranian descent but who was born in France, started eBay (then known as AuctionWeb) on September 3, 1995 on San Jose, California. It has been said that the very first item sold on eBay was actually a broken laser pointer. It was sold for $14.83. Omidyar was actually very surprised that the buyer actually bought the item that he did buy. His astonishment was so great that he actually contacted the buyer to ask if he understood that the laser pointer was broken. The buyer responded through an email that he was really a collector of broken laser pointers. That was the remarkably unlikely start of a great success.
Truly, eBay has come to symbolize the success that can be achieved through the proper use of the possibilities presented by the Internet. Today you can buy anything from the most ridiculous prank toys to the more expensive luxury items like top of the line automobiles. eBay has definitely become synonymous with success.