eBay

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If you can’t find it anywhere else, you can probably find it on eBay. eBay is the world’s largest person-to-person marketplace. It uses the concept of online auctions to enable individuals (and businesses) around the world to sell all manner of merchandise—to the highest bidder. On any given day eBay has more than 12 million items listed for auction; in 2002, that translated into 638 million total auctions, selling almost $15 billion worth of merchandise.

In many ways, eBay is the high-tech equivalent of an old-fashioned garage sale. If you have something to sell, eBay helps you find someone to buy it. It’s all automated; just fill out the online forms and eBay launches and runs the entire auction process for you. When the auction is over, the high bidder wins; after receiving payment, the seller then ships the item and another auction is successfully completed.