eBay Timeline:
click to see larger image (117k, 410 x 531)

May 25, 2005, San Jose, CA - eBay, The World's Online Marketplace®, turns 10 years old this year, and an estimated 10,000 eBay users will celebrate during eBay Live!, its annual user conference on June 23 - 25, in eBay's hometown of San Jose, California. The community conference draws employees and users of the eBay and PayPal communities from around the world to celebrate, learn and network with one another.

In 1995, founder Pierre Omidyar built the site on the premise that members of the eBay community can fairly and honestly trade online goods and services when given the opportunity to transact directly with one another. Fast-forward ten years, and now eBay is a dynamic global marketplace that has revolutionized the way millions of people buy and sell directly from one another over the Internet. Today, eBay has 147 million community members and approximately 50 million items for sale at any given time.

To celebrate, community members are invited to attend eBay's 10th anniversary gala during eBay Live!, featuring a private concert with musical guest The B-52's. In addition, eBay community members at the conference are invited to enjoy an evening of rides, fun and a special barbecue feast with their families at Paramount's Great America, a 100-acre amusement park.

"Our user community is the foundation of eBay, and this year's 10th anniversary celebration at eBay Live! gives us the opportunity to interact and personally thank the dedicated eBay members who plan to attend," said Bill Cobb, president of eBay North America. "Without the support of our community, eBay would not be the unique and dynamic marketplace it has become, helping people connect and trade all over the world."

During the conference -- through classes, workshops and other activities -- attendees will share their experiences and learn new ways to buy and sell on eBay more effectively, while connecting with members of the eBay community to share their interests. The eBay Live! curriculum is geared towards a broad range of experience levels - from those who have never bought or sold on the site to experienced sellers who run full-time businesses through eBay.

eBay Live! is made possible with the help of key sponsors. The United States Postal Service is this year's title sponsor and will host a number of exciting activities such as the "Ship It Home Center," and other events for the eBay community.

Premier sponsors of eBay Live! include Pitney Bowes, Hewlett-Packard, UPS, GE Money and Entrepreneur magazine.

eBay Live! registration is open to anyone 18 years of age and over. For more information and to register, visit www.ebay.com/ebaylive.

About eBay
eBay is The World's Online Marketplace®. Founded in 1995, eBay created a powerful platform for the sale of goods and services by a passionate community of individuals and businesses. On any given day, there are millions of items across thousands of categories for sale on eBay. eBay enables trade on a local, national and international basis with customized sites in markets around the world. Through an array of services, such as its payment solution provider PayPal, eBay is enabling global e-commerce for an ever-growing online community.