In 1995, after spending Labor Day weekend at home writing code on his personal computer, eBay founder Pierre Omidyar launched AuctionWeb, a site "dedicated to bringing together buyers and sellers in an honest and open marketplace."
Soon after, Canadian Mark Fraser purchased the first item that Omidyar listed on the online shopping site -- a broken laser pointer.
Pierre hired the first employee, Chris Agarpao, a year later. Chris was to help coordinate the fast-growing company’s online operations. Over twenty years later, he is still working at eBay.
By the time Meg Whitman was hired by the board as eBay president and CEO in March 1998, the online store already had 30 employees, half a million users and revenues of $4.7 million in the United States.
It didn't take long before all sorts of interesting items were selling on eBay. Take a grilled cheese sandwich with the face of Virgin Mary on it. Sold for a staggering $28,000 in 2004, the sandwich is said to have magical powers and was left untouched by mold for more than a decade, according to the woman who made it.
There was this funny eBay listing - a Dorito shaped like the Pope’s hat. It sold for $1,209 in 2005. The buyer? Online casino GoldenPalace.com, the same one that bought the Virgin Mary grilled cheese.
I guess we just found the answers to the question why eBay is filled with crazy listings nowadays.
