Celebrating eBay UK 25th Birthday

I’ve spoken to a number of people, and no one is exactly sure when eBay UK officially came into being – some say the end of July when the site when live, others put the date later in October when trading in sterling started, but what we do know for certain is that it’s eBay UK 25th Birthday this summer!

What we do know is that a Scorpions CD was the first item sold, and that the first eBay UK registered sellers were dragged kicking and screaming from eBay.com and forced onto eBay UK, not to their approval at the time as these were the world wide selling pioneers who thought their businesses might suffer by selling on the then obviously smaller and newer eBay UK.

One of the first sellers on eBay UK that was moved from the US site was Graham Forsdyke who started selling on eBay in 1996, just 50 days after eBay went live in the US and a full three years before eBay UK was launched! Graham passed away in 2023 having been selling on eBay for over 27 years and you can read his story here.

eBay UK 25th Birthday

To celebrate eBay’s 25th Birthday, here’s 25 fun facts from over the years!

• 1999 – eBay UK Founded with the first time sold being a Scorpions CD
• 2000 – Within it’s first year, eBay UK becomes the countries largest auction site revolutionising the way Brits shop
• 2001 – A Royal Navy jump jet was sold for over £100k, taking eBay into the national headlines
• 2002 – eBay was already the leading online marketplace in the UK, with everything from collectibles to cars being sold
• 2003 – Ahead of their 5th birthday, eBay UK already had over 5 million members
• 2004 – eBay UK opened up their support centre in Dublin
• 2005 – eBay acquired Gumtree (although they no longer own the platform)2005 –
• 2006 – A Londoner tried to sell his entire life on eBay including his house, car, job and friends. Also, ChannelX (then known as Tamebay) launched and started to cover eBay events starting with a note on eBay University in Exeter!
• 2007 – James Blunt sold his sister on eBay. He listed her as a damsel in distress trying to get to a funeral, and she eventually married the helicopter pilot that came to her rescue!
• 2008 – eBay UK moves to Richmond, where their current head office is still based today – If you’re wondering why it’s no coincidence that the then country manager Doug lived in Richmond, so it made for a short commute!
• 2009 – A 10 year old tried to sell his grannie on eBay!
• 2010 – We go mobile! The first item sold via the eBay app was a pair of shoes
• 2011 – eBay’s Christmas Boutique opened in London, allowing shoppers to browse instore and buy online
• 2012 – The new eBay Logo is launched
• 2013 – The first eBay open takes place
• 2014 – A pair of boots from the stage show Wicked sold for £690 with proceeds going to ITV’s Heels for Hearts campaign
• 2015 – eBay UK celebrates eBay.com’s 20th birthday by floating a giant cake up the Thames
• 2016 – eBay UK launches Local, allowing buyers to buy from people near them
• 2017 – eBay seller MusicMagpie becomes the first seller in the world to break the 5 million feedback landmark
• 2018 – eBay challenges a team to convert a 1968 Mustang into a unicorn for London Pride, which was auctioned in aid of The Albert Kennedy Trust
• 2019 – An eBay user lists seven variants of fresh air for sale!
• 2020 – eBay UK launch a dedicated NHS portal for PPE procurement in the pandemic
• 2021 – eBay UK Authenticity Guarantee launched with their Authenticity Centre opening in Ruislip
• 2022 – eBay becomes Love Island fashion sponsor
• 2023 – eBay’s Black Friday campaign features pre-loved/refurb items only for the first time
• 2024 – eBay goes free-to-sell for consumers in pre-loved fashion