Welcome to eBay Quotes, where we delve into the eclectic world of online buying and selling through the lens of some of the most memorable and insightful quotes. eBay, founded in 1995, has become synonymous with the global marketplace, revolutionizing the way individuals buy and sell goods of all kinds. From rare collectibles to everyday essentials, eBay has provided a platform for millions to connect, trade, and discover treasures from the comfort of their homes.
Through this curated collection of quotes, we invite you to explore the diverse experiences, wisdom, and humor that surround the eBay community. Whether you’re a seasoned seller, a thrifty buyer, or simply fascinated by the dynamics of online commerce, these quotes offer a glimpse into the ever-evolving landscape of e-commerce. From practical tips to philosophical reflections, from success stories to humorous anecdotes, eBay Quotes celebrates the richness and diversity of this global marketplace.
It’s a story of little girls who are pressed into working in sweat shops in games, who spend all day doing repetitive grinding tasks like making shirts, which are then converted into gold and sold on eBay. Cory Doctorow
eBay started with a core focus on the collector. At the time of its S-1, six or seven percent of its total sales were Beanie Babies. Jeff Jordan
Some of the best things that I ever sold on Ebay, I bought on Ebay – just for way less. Sophia Amoruso
I’m a big fan of the American Tapes label. But that’s very hard to keep a grip on that because you blink your eyes and they’ve released three records, all of which are limited edition, all sold at one show. So you have to follow in drips and drops on eBay, which I do. Henry Rollins
In February of 1996, about six months after I created eBay, I started receiving a spate of complaints. Everyone was complaining about each other. I felt very much like I was a parent who had to adjudicate the brothers beating each other up. Pierre Omidyar
I wouldn’t know how to find eBay on the computer if my life depended on it. Marc Jacobs
Just a couple of minutes ago, I signed a couple of bowling pins for some people. That’s a normal thing. Somebody will hand me something and say, ‘Draw a picture! Draw the Dude!’ They’re probably selling them on eBay or something. Jeff Bridges
When I’m on a break from writing, I’ll log on to Amazon and eBay. The doorbell is constantly being rung by deliverymen. Sophie Kinsella
EBay gave me the framework to discover I was an e-commerce entrepreneur. I touched everything, from shipping to logistics. Sophia Amoruso
There are millions and millions of products out there. You can look at eBay and Amazon. You can look at every product on the planet, but trying to figure out which one is best for you is really the challenge. Katrina Lake
I was one of the early folks at eBay, and by 1999, it was completely overrun by consultants from McKinsey, Bain, and BCG. It went from being a cool, fun startup to an MBA factory. Gil Penchina
When the earthquake hit Christchurch in 2011, the factory that produces Marmite was closed for two years. The supermarket shelves were empty and people were selling jars for hundreds of dollars on eBay. It was absolute meltdown; we called it ‘Marmageddon.’ Monica Galetti
I started with Katie, a doll I got on eBay on my 10th birthday. I don’t use her anymore. I’ve got a new Katie now, a real ventriloquist’s puppet. Darci Lynne Farmer
With the way Amazon and eBay had become big companies and with the way people were embracing technology, I was like, it is so obvious that this is going to be a huge game changer in this space. The combination of these things is going to change what it means to retail, what it means to launch brands, what it means to connect with your consumer. Kirsten Green
My assistant says I’m an eBay auction waiting to happen. I have a very large collection of T-shirts… about 4,000 now. Maybe I’ll pillage it someday. I have resisted the offers to do a line of T-shirts. Bruce Vilanch
Amazon is now the definitive source for data about whole sets of products – fungible consumer products. EBay is the authoritative source for the secondary market of those products. Google is the authority for information about facts, but they’re relatively undifferentiated. Tim O’Reilly
Israel stands proudly at the forefront of international achievement. The world’s leading corporations – Google, Intel and Motorola, to name but a few – maintain research and development facilities here, and our technology start-ups continue to be acquired by the likes of AOL, eBay and IBM. Ehud Olmert
Is Amazon truly the best online buying experience? Absolutely not. Is eBay the best platform for auction? Probably not. Are dating sites like match.com really a reflection of the way people date? Probably not. Danny Rimer
Nowadays people talk about PayPal’s founders as prescient geniuses who would inevitably change the world. It was, however, not so obvious that PayPal would taste its first major success by helping people sell Beanie Babies on eBay. But they had a vision, a hope, and the perseverance to try multiple iterations until they got it right. Eric Ries
I don’t mind it when people come up to me and say, ‘Well done.’ That’s lovely. The bit that’s weird is stuff like… I’ve had a load of eBay people hounding me. Just sort of getting you to sign stuff which they can then sell. Geraint Thomas
I have spent many a night in an Internet chat room, but not since I’ve been married. I don’t do the chat rooms anymore, but I have become completely addicted to Ebay. Jane Green
For me, the international expansion of eBay was the best idea. We are now in 35 countries, and have a huge global network. The second best one was the acquisition of PayPal – the wallet on eBay. Meg Whitman
We compete with very large companies. These are companies like Walmart and Target and Kroger and some very successful digital companies like eBay and Etsy and Wayfair, and we don’t have the ability to raise prices in any kind of unfettered way. Andy Jassy
So one of the things that I learned in my old company, GSI Commerce that eBay bought in 2011, was we did a lot of things right, but we also did a lot of things wrong at that company. And so I’ve really learned focus is everything. Michael G. Rubin
I’m a bit of a geek when it comes to music. I like studio gear. I’m always looking it up on eBay and seeing what I can afford. Eliot Sumner
Airbnb is creating a new marketplace for space and is facing many of the challenges that eBay faced back in 1998 when they created a new marketplace for goods. Nathan Blecharczyk
I’ve been lucky enough to be involved in a number of great startups, including eBay and Wikia as an entrepreneur and LinkedIn and Paypal as an investor. Gil Penchina
I love vintage shopping in flea markets, vintage stores and even Ebay. Chelsea Leyland
I love my kids, they are amazing children, but they drive me bananas sometimes. And sometimes, I want to sell them on eBay… but I’m not going to. Katie Aselton
I have tremendous admiration for companies with the kind of pioneering spirit and innovation eBay has demonstrated from day one. Bonnie Hammer
Let me tell you something… If you’re anybody – not just me, but anybody – and you can put an oven that doesn’t work at all on eBay and sign your name on it and sell it for 1200 bucks, and somebody will drive from Seattle to Dallas, Texas, to get it, that’s pretty cool. Vinnie Paul
I burned down my dorm room freshman year. I was that kid. When you live in small quarters with two guys, the smell in the room starts to take over a little bit. So we decided we wanted our room to smell like fresh baked cookies. So we order a cookie-dough-scented candle off eBay, and then we accidentally burn our room down with that candle. Dave Franco
New online formats gutted the newspaper-ad business. Why pore over tiny print looking for a job in the want ads when you can tap a few keywords into monster.com, then click through and apply? Why pay a steep per-character rate for a classified when you can hawk a whole garage full of used stuff on EBay or Craigslist for free? Nathan Myhrvold
Once the smoke of the market crash clears off, you know, the Internet will pick back up and go. Take a look at what’s happening to some of the big companies like eBay and Yahoo, the publicly traded stocks. You know, they’re all coming back up off the mat now. Michael Nesmith
I do shop on eBay. I love to buy china on eBay. I’ve bought quite a few sets of plates. I like to buy gifts as well. If I know somebody has a favorite writer, I look for a first edition. It’s also a great place to buy vintage jewelry. Katie Lee
Most things that people want already exist, and with Amazon or eBay, there is always someone who is willing to undercut your price. Kirsten Green
Somebody was telling me about the French Army rifle that was being advertised on eBay the other day – the description was, ‘Never shot. Dropped once. Roy Blunt
I’ll never forget my 24th birthday when my tooth got punched out. And for a second I was like, it would be really hilarious if I sold it on eBay. But I can’t, that’s just too creepy. I don’t think I can go there. Evan Rachel Wood
Because if you don’t have a great workforce, a great higher education system, you’re not going to have the next eBay, the next AmGen, the next, you know, Miasole, and not only California but America is going to fall behind a whole new competitive context which is obviously China, India, and other countries. Meg Whitman
With Net Neutrality, the level playing field that gave us Google, YouTube and eBay when they were start-ups would suddenly start to tilt in favor of the big, established players. Chellie Pingree
What makes eBay successful – the real value and the real power at eBay – is the community. It’s the buyers and sellers coming together and forming a marketplace. Pierre Omidyar
Did Google know much about media? Or Amazon about commerce? Tesla about cars? SpaceX about rockets? EBay about classifieds? What did I know about computing when I started Sun Microsystems? We should celebrate these entrepreneurs, not pillory them for fighting entrenched incumbent industries that have political influence and money. Vinod Khosla
I have a brass bed that’s very ‘Bedknobs and Broomsticks.’ I got it on eBay. It’s from the early 1900s. Parker Posey
Ebay’s success as a company depends on the success of the community of sellers. Pierre Omidyar
In the ’90s, I went on eBay to buy some paddle tires for my four-wheeler ATV and couldn’t find any. When I did find a manufacturer that sold them, I bought 20,000 and had no problem reselling them. So the next time you get mad when you can’t find an item, realize there’s a market waiting to be explored. Rick Harrison
Please don’t throw phones. They hurt. And we sell them on eBay. Liam Payne
The first time you went to eBay, you probably didn’t do a transaction. Bill Gurley
Guess what? The world changes. eBay has defined e-commerce. Meg Whitman
I think if you look at the commonalities between eBay, PayPal and OpenTable, all three are businesses that built a network in a vertical. Network effect businesses are very attractive businesses. Jeff Jordan
Vintage rock T-shirts are the best. I have about 50 or 60, most bought on eBay for a few pounds. You can always tell which ones are genuine because there’ll be lots of pictures showing you the holes. Jessica Hart
When I first started buying shoes with my own money, I would always get them from eBay. I used to hack my mum’s account, and suddenly these white cowboy leather boots would arrive. Suki Waterhouse
I started doing some demos and got online and bought a refurbished laptop, bought a microphone off of eBay. A lot of folks said you can’t really do it that way at a pro level, but I did some vocals that way, turned it into the label and they said, ‘Wow, where did you record this? The vocals sound great!’ Rodney Atkins
eBay’s business is based on enabling someone to do business with another person, and to do that, they first have to develop some measure of trust, either in the other person or the system. Pierre Omidyar
PayPal benefited tremendously from having a close partnership with the eBay marketplace. It was a natural fit at the time. Dan Schulman
I treat my writing like a day job, like my main job, even if for many years I was doing other jobs to pay the bills. I worked as a copy editor. I was a medical guinea pig. I was an eBay power seller of ladies’ handbags. I was an assistant to a bookie at the horse races. I bartended. I did anything I could to make ends meet. Miguel Syjuco
The idea that Google, Yahoo, and eBay are getting a free ride is absolutely unfair criticism. We have to build out our own infrastructure. And we have to inter-connect to the public Internet. Vint Cerf
Caftans are just the perfect solution to what to wear at home. I love Camilla Franks’, but I also get great vintage ones on eBay. Christina Hendricks
The United States ran the table on Internet innovations, creating companies like Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Intel, Apple, Cisco, Twitter, Amazon, eBay, YouTube, and others. Europe and Japan scarcely contributed. Edward Conard
I’m at my desk for about 9:30 A.M., and I stay there all day. Then there’s a lot of checking Facebook and eBay and that sort of thing. Aminatta Forna
When we talk about the things at Airbnb that are challenging and that they are going to have to overcome, the parallels with eBay are across the board. It’s community management. It’s making sure the marketplace is in balance – the right amount of buyers and sellers. Jeff Jordan
When I moved from Cambridge, I donated all my fiction. I carefully cut out pages the authors had autographed for me. I didn’t want those autographed books showing up on eBay. Lois Lowry
When we were associated with eBay, it was surprising to me how many merchants were very reluctant to work with PayPal because we were accessing their data and their information, and they felt in some way, shape, or form they were competing with eBay. Dan Schulman
I tend to be attracted to darker scents. I’m not a floral girl. But I do like this old fragrance I used to wear called Versace Red Jeans. I have an eBay alert that tells me when it comes back! I think it’s more of a nostalgic association that I have with it because a boyfriend had bought it for me when I was, like, 16. Kat Von D
I spend a lot of time on eBay buying vintage. I also really like Alexander Wang, Miu Miu, Vivienne Westwood, McQueen and Balmain. Katie McGrath
In the early days of eBay, I articulated for the very first time this belief that people are basically good. Pierre Omidyar
I don’t know anybody that buys more shoes on eBay than me. I like eBay because I can always find rare gems in my size. I always have upwards of 40 sneakers in my cart at any given time. P. J. Tucker
I was an eBay addict before my first album hit big. I wanted to go on this tour of the world, so I started selling everything on eBay. James Blunt
The problem with when you look at eBay is that you can put a pair of Jordans next to a frying pan. It’s an altogether different experience compared to having some editorial around it and well-curated experience. Troy Carter
In my bachelor days, I had a small upright piano in my kitchen. It cost ?10 from eBay plus ?70 delivery. It was because I’d seen an old photo of Tom Waits – with dirty dishes, empty bottles, a hot plate, a coffee machine and a piano strewn with lyric sheets – and fallen in love with it. Jamie Cullum
I came to office promising major ethics reform to end the culture of self-dealing. And today, that ethics reform is a law. While I was at it, I got rid of a few things in the governor’s office that I didn’t believe our citizens should have to pay for. That luxury jet was over-the-top. I put it on eBay. Sarah Palin
Etsy is fundamentally a creative community. On eBay, or Amazon for that matter, practically anyone can sell practically anything. On Etsy, you can only sell handmade goods, vintage goods over 20 years old, and craft supplies for making. Caterina Fake
My phone is all ping-ping, eBay alerts. Margherita Missoni
History shows fans want consolidation; you see it across the web every place. The big players are people like Google, Amazon, eBay, Facebook. Irving Azoff
Although eBay is a fantastic tool for collectors who want to buy or sell, you really have to have knowledge of items before you embark. Judith Miller
In my view, it’s irreverence, foolish confidence and naivety combined with persistence, open mindedness and a continual ability to learn that created Facebook, Google, Yahoo, eBay, Microsoft, Apple, Juniper, AOL, Sun Microsystems and others. Vinod Khosla
L.A. has a lot of good flea markets – the Rose Bowl is always a good one. I have taken to eBay, too. Some of my favorite things – especially chairs, for some reason – I got on eBay. Tamara Taylor
Bringing buyers and sellers together through a single platform is not a new idea – most of us know about eBay’s success – but with advancing technology comes new innovative methods for businesses to connect customers with those who want to offer services. Sam Graves
When I started eBay, it was a hobby, an experiment to see if people could use the Internet to be empowered through access to an efficient market. I actually wasn’t thinking about it in terms of a social impact. Pierre Omidyar
The thing that people seem to miss about not just Google, but also our competitors, Yahoo, eBay and so forth, is that there’s an awful lot of communities that have never been served by traditional media. Eric Schmidt
It’s easy to forget the ever-plodding eBay with all the noise made by the more lithe and lively Web 2.0 companies. Kara Swisher
I have a terrible habit of shopping after I go to the gym or hitting eBay. Edie Campbell
EBay is a great company. There are a lot of good assets and good customers, and the U.S. people love it. Jack Ma
The easier question might be, ‘What isn’t Alibaba?’ The company is only 15 years old, but it has gotten so big over that timeframe that it basically touches every single part of the Chinese economy. I think the simplest comparison to draw is that it is like eBay and Amazon combined. Kayla Tausche
I have close to 300 pairs of shoes. I’m fortunate enough to be in a position to get any shoes I want. So I have a pretty nice collection. It’s pretty valuable. It’s funny when sometimes I buy a pair of shoes and I look on eBay and it’s already selling for $500. I just wanted to buy those shoes to wear them! Chumlee
The less concerned with aesthetics and usability these friends and family members are, the more easily they navigate sites and applications I can’t make head nor hair of. Like the ex-girlfriend who mastered Ebay. Jeffrey Zeldman
I use Wikipedia and eBay; I look for singles for my 1950s jukebox. Lee Mack
I’m not saying the whole world will work this way, but with Airbnb, people are sleeping in other people’s homes and other people’s beds. So there’s a level of trust necessary to participate that’s different from an eBay or Facebook. Brian Chesky
You look at the tremendous success of Facebook. To my mind there is not a lot of commerce going on in these social networking sites. eBay is a community anchored in commerce. It is a commerce site that built a community around it. What has not been proven is if the reverse can happen and people will go to community sites to do commerce. Meg Whitman
On Etsy, you can’t resell new goods you weren’t involved in making, whereas on eBay and Amazon, that is more than welcome – everything from dishwashers to XBoxes, curling irons, espresso machines, and metal detectors. Caterina Fake
