EBay versus Yard Sales
Brenda J Deyo
University of Phoenix

Thesis Statement This paper is written on the phenomenon that is EBay. In it I will discuss the founders, the day to day operations as a customer, and the financial side.

Outline
I. Introduction A. What is EBay?
II. Body A. The Founders B. Day to Day as a customer C. The Finances
III. Conclusion A. Do we remember life before EBay

I don’t think anyone expected EBay to become the Icon it is today. They have had remarkable success and are well known all over the world. When you need to buy or sell anything these days that is the first thing you generally think of. EBay is an auction environment that, because it is so user friendly (easy to understand and operate in) that almost anyone can access it. What this does is open our little area up to the whole entire world. When we choose to buy or sell we have options such as “Penny Saver”, Classifieds, and things of that nature but the exposure we enjoy with EBay is just beyond comprehension. We can market our old Cell Phone to someone in Australia or Japan it is amazing. Yard sales for some are a thing of the past, now they advertise their goods on the website and off they go, this generally means bigger profits because in this whole world you can find the market for anything making it easier to get more money for it. This is because we can show to such a large market. The site is bright and colorful and upon first inspection is most impressive. To navigate around within its perimeters is fairly self-explanatory ( which is one of the reasons for such success) you find a buttons that collate to what you are doing at the moment such as register, sign in, buy, sell, or simply pick a category to shop in. Not sure what category your item is in, then use the search bar. When you are signing up there is a step by step process that will walk you through and anticipate practically any problem that would arise.

Once you register and pick a screen name and password you are ready to shop or whatever you intend to do. The process for listing an item for sale is equally as easy with its user friendly format anyone can do it, the trick is to be savvy enough to be good at it. The talent is in knowing how to make your auction stand out because the competition for a buyer’s attention is fierce. EBay was the brain child of Pierre Omidyar. He stumbled upon it by trying to put a garage sale on the internet in 1995. He had no idea what he was about to accomplish. Mr. Omidyar is Iranian French and is a Philanthropist/Economist. Pierre was 28 years old when he began his work to create the online auction site.