eBay 2005 Annual Report Download - page 8

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Categories
Category growth, both in number and size within the eBay Marketplaces, is a key element in creating a
faster, easier and safer online trading experience.
As of December 31, 2005, listings on eBay.com were organized under the following major categories:
‚ Antiques ‚ Computers & Networking ‚ Musical Instruments
‚ Art ‚ Consumer Electronics ‚ Pottery & Glass
‚ Baby ‚ Crafts ‚ Real Estate
‚ Boats ‚ Dolls & Bears ‚ Specialty Services
‚ Books ‚ DVDs & Movies ‚ Sporting Goods
‚ Business & Industrial ‚ Entertainment Memorabilia ‚ Sports Memorabilia, Cards and
FanShop
‚ Camera & Photo ‚ Everything Else ‚ Stamps
‚ Cars, Parts & Vehicles ‚ Gift Certificates ‚ Tickets
‚ Cell Phones ‚ Health & Beauty ‚ Toys & Hobbies
‚ Clothing, Shoes & Accessories ‚ Home & Garden ‚ Travel
‚ Coins ‚ Jewelry & Watches ‚ Video Games
‚ Collectibles ‚ Music
Formats
We are continually seeking to improve and expand the formats in which members of our community can
interact with one another. At the core of our marketplaces are our traditional auction format listings, where a
seller will select a minimum price for opening bids, with the option to set a reserve price for the item, which is
the minimum price at which the seller is willing to sell the item. In addition, a seller with appropriate feedback
ratings can also choose to use the Buy-It-Now feature at the time of the listing, which allows sellers to name a
price at which they would be willing to sell the item to any buyer. The Buy-It-Now feature was introduced in
2000 and is now used on a large number of our listings. Another format in which a seller with appropriate
feedback ratings can sell is a ""Dutch Auction'' format, which allows a seller to sell multiple identical items to
the highest bidders. eBay Stores also represent another format through which sellers can offer their goods and
services. eBay Stores enable sellers to show all of their listings and to describe their respective businesses
through customized pages.
In addition to our eBay.com formats, we are continually looking for ways to better enable members of our
community to interact and transact with one another online. The classifieds format is one that we have been
growing through our acquisitions of mobile.de, Marktplaats.nl, Rent.com, other international classifieds
businesses as well as our equity investment in craigslist, Inc. We also added a comparison shopping format
with our acquisition of Shopping.com, which allows shoppers to compare millions of products from thousands
of stores and helps merchants increase their sales.
Geographies
A key element of our growth strategy is to continually expand the eBay Marketplaces to new
communities around the world. Providing access to broad markets and reducing the barriers of global trade
creates value for both buyers and sellers and greatly increases the vibrancy of our marketplaces. As of
December 31, 2005, eBay and its consolidated subsidiaries had traditional auction-based platform websites
directed toward markets in over 20 countries. Through our equity investment in MercadoLibre.com, this reach
extends to numerous Latin American countries.
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