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Vishu Bheda

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Medial • 4h

This man built a $32 BILLION empire selling "worthless" junk online. In 1995, he auctioned off a broken laser pointer as a joke for $14... And created a website that inspired Amazon, Etsy, & Shopify. Here's proof that one person's trash can become anyone's treasure: In 1995, a 28-year-old programmer named Pierre Omidyar had an idea: a marketplace where anyone could buy and sell online. To test if it would work, he listed a broken laser pointer for $1. To his surprise, a Canadian named Mark Fraser bought it for $14.83! Curious, Omidyar asked him why. Fraser, an electronics enthusiast, believed he could repair it and save money. This simple sale sparked a revolution. By 1996, Omidyar’s site—AuctionWeb, later renamed eBay—hosted 250,000 auctions. By 1997, it was seeing 800,000 auctions per day! But rapid growth came with a problem: Omidyar’s internet bill skyrocketed from $30 to $250. To cover costs, he introduced small listing fees. Instead of driving users away, this actually built trust—sellers paying fees signaled legitimacy. Another challenge? Trust between strangers. His solution? A feedback system where buyers and sellers could rate each other. In 2000, eBay made another bold move: Buy It Now—fixed prices instead of just auctions. Many thought it would fail. Instead, it skyrocketed sales because people prefer convenience over waiting. Today, 90% of eBay sales are fixed-price. eBay’s true innovation wasn’t just auctions—it was empowering anyone to become an entrepreneur. By 2001, over 200,000 Americans earned a living through eBay. Now, eBay has 132 million buyers, operates in 190 markets, and handles $73 billion in yearly transactions—all from one broken laser pointer. Follow Vishu Bheda for more powerful business insights, startup lessons, and strategies to grow smarter!

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