THE NEW AUCTIONEER COMPANY eBay, President and CEO NET WORTH $900 million AGE 43 ADDRESSwww.ebay.com BIO Anyone who has heard the words new economy but hasn't a clue what they
mean can get the first lesson from eBay. Originally founded to trade Pez
dispensers, the online auction site has spawned a new business phenomenon
that could become a $52 billion industry by 2002, according to Forrester
Research. Leading the charge is Meg Whitman, who's working to move eBay
beyond rocking chairs and used baby clothes to a broader marketplace for
personal and commercial goods. Whitman began dressing up eBay's image early
this year by having the company take out an insurance policy to protect buyers
and sellers from fraud. And she's courting traditional retailers so people can buy
new things, not just garage-sale-type stuff.
While many were worried that service outages this summer could weaken eBay's
legendary customer loyalty, others saw it as a healthy growing pain. Of course,
Whitman's main job these days is keeping track of the competition, including
Amazon's new auction site and Priceline's new car auctions. With more than 5.6
million users and an estimated $2.7 billion worth of goods changing hands by
year's end, eBay wants to stay the undisputed online-auction leader.
BEST LINE "We are far and away the largest marketplace. Sellers want to be
where the buyers are, and buyers want to be where the sellers are. That's where
being the largest helps." FORWARD TILT Big-ticket items, such as cars, will move to a new Great
Collections area of the site this fall. Regional auctions will expand into 50 cities,
including New York City, Atlanta and Chicago, by year's end.
