9 min reading
11 min reading - Sep 04, 2022
Founded in 1995 by Pierre Omidyar, eBay was one of the first companies to create a website that matches buyers and sellers. Today eBay is a multibillion-dollar business used by millions worldwide. What makes eBay unique from other online marketplaces is that it has an online auction feature that allows people to bid for items. That said, there are also plenty of items available to buy without bidding.
The COVID-19 pandemic saw a major increase in online shopping, which naturally benefited websites like eBay. One of the reasons why people choose eBay is the variety of items available. At eBay, you can shop for a wide range of products. This includes but is not limited to:
If you're interested in selling products on eBay, whether as a business or an individual, it's important to know what you're getting into. Similarly, sellers interested in buying items off eBay want to know that they're dealing with a legitimate company.
So, is eBay still worth using after all these years? Below we have 30+ of the most recent and compelling eBay statistics to give you a clearer picture of the company. This includes stats about their user base, reviews, sales, app, and so much more. If you still have questions about eBay, you can check out our quick FAQ first!
Is eBay safe to use?
eBay is a legitimate website that is safe to use. You can pay safely with a debit card, credit card, Google Pay, Apple Pay, or PayPal without having to worry about the security of your payment information. That said, there is some risk of purchasing counterfeit goods. Buyers can protect themselves from accidentally purchasing counterfeit items by buying only products with eBay's Authenticity Guarantee.
How does eBay profit?
The company primarily generates profits by charging sellers small fees. The basic fee for most categories is 12.9% up to $7,500 per item. Any portion of the sale that goes over $7,500 comes with a fee of 2.35%.
Is eBay suitable for small businesses?
Businesses of all sizes have a presence on eBay. As one of the most popular eCommerce platforms in the world, it's a great place to sell your business's products. It's easy to use and provides access to millions of buyers. The most notable downside, however, is that you'll need to be willing to pay eBay's sellers fees.
How is eBay different from Amazon?
The primary difference between eBay and Amazon is their business models. While eBay functions like an auction house, Amazon operates similarly to a traditional retail store. Amazon is more buyer-oriented than eBay, which tends to be oriented toward sellers.
How do you save money on eBay?
There are several ways to save money on eBay. You could check out eBay's Daily Deals section, set up alerts on your phone, or download eBay's Chrome extension. Another simpler way to save is to use one of the many free eBay coupons, discounts, and promo codes offered by DealDrop.
Now that you know more about eBay as a company, it's time to get into more current and in-depth data. Here is a breakdown of some of the most interesting statistics concerning eBay's users, website, app, reviews, sales, and more.
1. eBay is the second most visited retail website as of 2022
By average monthly traffic, eBay is the second most visited retail website online. The site is visited hundreds of million times a month, which beats out Walmart, Ali Express, Etsy, Ikea, and other notable retail websites. That said, this number falls considerably short of Amazon, which boasts billions of monthly visits.
(Source - Statista)
2. eBay is accessed by users in 190 markets
eBay's impressive international reach began in 1999 when it launched sites in Australia, Germany, and the United Kingdom. As of 2022, eBay is available in 190 markets across the globe.
(Source - eBay)
3. YouTube refers the most traffic to eBay
YouTube is the leading social media traffic referrer for eBay in 2022. Of those referred to eBay through a social platform, 48.93% came from YouTube. The popular video-sharing site is followed by Facebook at 22,64% and Reddit at 12.54%.
(Source - Statista)
4. eBay has 138 million active buyers
eBay defines an active buyer as a user who has bid on, bought, listed, or sold an item within the last 12 months. It should be noted, however, that users are permitted to have more than one account. As of Q3 2022, eBay has approximately 138 million active buyers. This number is down from the previous year when eBay had around 160 million active buyers.
(Source - eBayinc)
5. The United States sends the most traffic to eBay
As of June 2022, the United States is responsible for 79.45% of eBay's web traffic. That's considerably more than the traffic from Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Mexico combined.
(Source - Similarweb)
6. eBay has a gross merchandise volume of $18.55 billion
eBay's gross merchandise volume (GMV) as of Q2 2022 is $18.55 billion. This is a drop from its GMV in Q2 2021, which was $22.59 billion. Of eBay's current GMV, about $8.98 billion is from the United States.
(Source - Marketplace Pulse)
7. There are approximately 1.6 billion live listings on eBay
eBay has an estimated 1.6 billion live listings on the platform. That's 1.6 billion listings for clothing, technology, accessories, home goods, and much more.
(Source - eBayinc)
8. 25% of buyers account for 75% of eBay's business
High-value buyers have proven to be an important asset to eBay's success. This is evidenced by the fact that 75% of eBay's business comes from 25% of buyers. This group of high-value buyers has been rising steadily since 2019.
(Source - eBay)
9. eBay makes up 5% of the US eCommerce market
With eBay's massive number of monthly users, it's no surprise that it accounts for 5% of the US eCommerce market. Though this is a far cry from Amazon, eBay remains a viable seller's marketplace for users across the country and around the world.
(Source - Helium 10)
10. The site has over 700 million visitors monthly
In July 2022, eBay had over 756 million visitors. This is an increase of over 30 million from the previous month, as the site had over 725 million visitors in June.
(Source - Similarweb)
11. eBay has a bounce rate of 36.41%
A bounce rate is the percentage of visitors to a website that leave the site after viewing just one page. eBay's bounce rate as of June 2022 is 36.41%.
(Source - Similarweb)
12. Most eBay sellers are based in the US
Approximately 31% of eBay's sellers are based in the United States. The United Kingdom is close behind in second place with 29%, followed by Germany with 15%, China with 12%, and Australia with 4%.
(Source - Statista)
13. The average visit on eBay's site is 7 minutes
The average visit duration of all traffic on eBay, as of June 2022, is 7 minutes. During this time, users click on an average of 6.97 pages. These clicks could be to access eBay's customer service page, different product categories, or individual listings.
(Source - Similarweb)
14. Most products sold on eBay are new
When some people think of eBay, they imagine what's essentially a digital garage sale full of used goods. Though that may have been true in the past, approximately 80% of the items sold on eBay today are new.
(Source - Helium 10)
15. The eBay app has hundreds of millions of downloads
eBay's popular app has been downloaded over 599 million times. The app is free on both iOS and Android. First released in 2008, this user-friendly app allows eBay's users to buy, sell, or browse with ease.
(Source - eDesk)
16. Most of eBay's sales come from mobile devices
Given the popularity of eBay's app, it comes as little surprise that approximately 61% of its sales are via mobile devices like smartphones and tablet computers.
(Source - eDesk)
17. The majority of eBay items are shipped for free
Free shipping is one of the major incentives that eBay's sellers can offer to attract buyers. An estimated 71% of items purchased on the website are shipped for free. Though not every buyer provides free shipping on their items, having the ability to do so has been beneficial to buyers and sellers alike.
(Source - eDesk)
18. Electronics remain the most popular category
Of the countless items sold on eBay, the electronics category is easily the most popular (based on the percentage of items sold). Electronics, in this case, includes computers, video games, printers, and of course mobile phones and accessories. The next most popular categories are clothing & accessories, automotive, and health & beauty.
(Source - CedCommerce, eDesk)
19. The majority of eBay traffic comes from men
eBay's audience demographics have a gender distribution of 33.96% female visitors and 66.04% male visitors.
(Source - SimilarWeb)
20. Young adults are the largest age group visiting eBay
Young adults, namely those in the 25-34 age range, account for 27.03% of eBay's audience. This places the age group well above the 35-44 group (19.87%) and the 18-24 group (17.70%). The age group that visits eBay the least, at 7.83%, is those aged 65+.
(Source - SimilarWeb)
21. eBay's app has a 4.7 star rating
As of Q3 2022, the eBay app has a 4.7 star rating in the Google Play Store. This is the average of over 4.34 million reviews. Most reviews give the app five stars, with some noting their preference for the app over the website. Many reviewers compliment the app's intuitive, user-friendly design, speed, and convenience.
(Source - Google Play Store)
22. The site's top seller has over 1 million positive reviews
eBay's top seller, musicmagpie, has garnered over 1.34 million positive reviews since the account was made in 2011. They've had some neutral and negative reviews as well, but this works out to 99.3% positive feedback overall. This account sells a variety of items, though they primarily focus on books and CDs.
(Source - eBay, Marketplace Pulse)
23. eBay's top sellers receive thousands of reviews every month
eBay's top 15 sellers have each received over 15,000 reviews in August of 2022 alone. This ranges from 17,177 for carpartswholesale to 96,959 for musicmagpie. The number of reviews received by sellers ranked lower in their top 100 list is also in the thousands.
(Source - Marketplace Pulse)
24. Most of eBay's top sellers are in the US
Of eBay's top 100 sellers, 40 are based in the United States. The US is followed by the United Kingdom with 31 sellers and then Germany with 23.
(Source - Marketplace Pulse)
25. The eBay app has approximately 66 million monthly users
eBay's app is exceptionally popular, as it's been downloaded hundreds of millions of times and is used regularly by 66 million users a month. In fact, more than three out of every 10 (34.9%) US mobile users interact with the eBay app on a monthly basis.
(Source - eDesk)
26. eBay's annual revenue has increased year-to-year
In 2021, eBay's annual revenue was $10.42 billion. That's a 17.16% increase from 2020. It also had a 19.72% increase in the previous year.
(Source - Macrotrends)
27. The site has facilitated charitable contributions in the millions
In the second quarter of 2022 alone, eBay for Charity contributed almost $56 million to charities around the world. This program has made it easy for sellers to donate anywhere from 10% to 100% of their item's final sale price to a certified charity of their choosing. Featured charities include St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, and much more.
(Source - PR Newswire)
28. eBay's Promoted Listings feature is used by 1.2 million sellers
Around 1.2 million sellers on eBay use the site's Promoted Listings feature to advertise their products. Sellers tend to do this when a product loses visibility. It's one of the most effective ways to make an item stand out from those offered by competitors.
(Source - Webinterpret)
29. The platform is used by many cross-border sellers
Around 8.8% of eBay's sellers are cross-border sellers. This means their buyers are located in other countries.
(Source - eDesk)
30. eBay sellers are often loyal to the site
Over half of all eBay sellers joined the platform 10 years ago and continue to use the site today.
(Source - eDesk)
31. In 2021, eBay scored received a 76 from the ACSI
The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) is an economic indicator of US consumer satisfaction. The index focuses on six retail industries, including online retail. In 2021, the ACSI gave eBay a respectable 76. This score was determined through random interviews with over 30,000 customers in the US.
(Source - ACSI)
32. The ACSI gave Amazon a higher score
In 2021, Amazon scored a 78. Though this is higher than eBay's 76, it's lower than the 79 they scored previously in 2020.
(Source - ACSI)
33. eBay's market cap has fallen considerably in 2022
By the end of 2021, eBay had a market cap of $41.62 billion. In 2022, the company has a market cap of $24.27 billion so far. A drop in market cap is considerable, though eBay has recovered from declines in 2018 and 2015. With its current market cap, eBay is the world's 687th most valuable company.
(Source - Companies Market Cap)
34. Amazon easily surpasses eBay in market cap
eBay's primary competitor is currently the world's 5th most valuable company by market cap with $1.291 trillion. This is a drop of about -23.63% from the year prior, though it still far surpasses eBay.
(Source - Companies Market Cap)
Now that you've seen these 34 statistics, you're ready to fully engage with eBay's platform. Whether you're a seller hoping to create a new stream of income or a buyer hoping to save money, the information offered by these stats should help you succeed. If you want to navigate eBay's popular website, find interesting items, and save money in the process, we have another resource to assist you.
When you shop with eBay, you're presented with a wide variety of options at different price points to suit your budget. So what happens when you find something you really want but still can't quite afford? With DealDrop, you can save money on eBay items with no effort. We offer a great selection of eBay coupons to help you save on everything from smartphones to home goods. The best part? They're available at absolutely zero charge.
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