eBay 2000 Annual Report Download - page 15

website.'' eBay has also partnered with Infoglide, a leading provider of similarity search technology, to help
keep previously suspended users from re-registering on eBay. eBay has introduced a requirement that new
sellers must provide a credit card or pass an identity veriÑcation check before being allowed to sell. The
identify veriÑcation process is performed by Equifax.
What Can Be Purchased or Sold on eBay. The eBay service has grown from oÅering 10 product
categories when it was Ñrst introduced in September 1995 to oÅering more than 8,000 categories as of
December 31, 2000. As the number of product categories has grown, eBay periodically organizes the
categories under diÅerent headings to reÖect the major types of items currently listed. As of March 2001,
these product categories were organized under the following headings:
Major Categories Specialty Sites
‚ Antiques & Art ‚ Photo ‚ eBay Motors
‚ Books ‚ Electronics ‚ eBay Premier
‚ Movies ‚ Pottery & Glass ‚ Services for Business
‚ Music ‚ Real Estate ‚ Half.com
‚ Business ‚ Sports
‚ Clothing & Accessories ‚ Tickets
‚ Coins ‚ Travel
‚ Stamps ‚ Toys
‚ Collectibles ‚ Hobbies & Crafts
‚ Computers ‚ Everything Else
‚ Network IT
‚ Dolls & Bears
‚ Home & Garden
‚ Jewelry, Gemstones
Each major category has numerous subcategories. As of December 31, 2000, eBay oÅered a selection of
over 6 million items, with the most popular items sold on eBay being those that are relatively standardized,
well-represented with a photo (and therefore can be evaluated to some degree without a physical inspection),
small and easily shipped and relatively inexpensive. As the eBay community grows and additional items are
listed, eBay will continue to organize items for sale under additional categories to respond to the needs of the
eBay community.
Community Services. Beyond providing a convenient means of trading, eBay has devoted substantial
resources to building an online trading community, which eBay believes is one of the strongest on the Web.
Key components of eBay's community philosophy are maintaining an honest and open marketplace and
treating individual users with respect. eBay oÅers a variety of community and support features that are
designed to solidify the growth of the eBay community and to build eBay user aÇnity and loyalty such as
announcement and bulletin boards, customer support boards as well as other topical or category-speciÑc
information exchanges.
eBay oÅers My eBay, which permits users to receive a report of their recent activity on eBay, including
bidding activity, selling activity, account balances, favorite categories and recent feedback. Users with their
own Web pages also can post links from the user's page to eBay and to a list of items the user is selling on
eBay. eBay also oÅers About Me, which oÅers users the opportunity to create their own personal home page
free of charge on eBay using step-by-step instructions provided by eBay. The About Me home page can
include personal information, items listed for sale, eBay feedback ratings, images and links to other favorite
sites.
In addition, in June 1998, eBay donated 643,500 shares of common stock to the Community Foundation
Silicon Valley, a tax-exempt donor-advised public charity, and established a fund known as the ""eBay
Foundation.'' Through the Community Foundation Silicon Valley, the eBay Foundation sponsors programs
including a recent program in which teachers travel abroad and share their experiences with their students.
Since its inception, the eBay foundation has made million of dollars in grants to dozens of programs and
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