eBay 1999 Annual Report Download - page 10

on file, insurance, integrated escrow, authentication and appraisal, are intended to bolster eBay’s reputation as a
safe place to trade. Consistent with its desire to foster community, the Company has organized a charitable fund,
known as the eBay Foundation, and involves the members of the eBay community in determining to which
charitable purposes the eBay Foundation’s funds will be applied. See ‘‘-The eBay Service-Community Services.’’
Enhance Features and Functionality. The Company intends to continually update and enhance the features
and functionality of the eBay website in order to continue to improve the trading experience on eBay. In 1999,
the Company added several new features and services to help buyers and sellers trade with greater ease. In
January 1999, the Company introduced the ‘‘Gallery’’ and in September 1999, the ability to search while in the
Gallery mode. The Gallery showcases items in a catalog of pictures rather than text. For sellers, the Company
introduced ‘‘Mr. Lister 2.0’’, a software tool that permits automated listing of multiple items for sale on eBay.
For buyers, the Company introduced ‘‘Personal Shopper’’, an automated tool that permits buyers to indicate
items of interest that they are alerted to by email when those items are available for sale on eBay. In June 1999,
the Company launched an improved user interface to make it easier to find information on the eBay site. The
Company also launched its ‘‘eBay Anywhere’’ strategy to permit eBay users to access trading information
through wireless devices such as Skytel 2-way pagers and the Palm VII personal data assistant. The Company
intends to continue refining its features and services to permit easier, safer and more efficient trade on eBay. The
Company will also continue to provide rapid system response and transaction processing time by investing in its
infrastructure in order to accommodate additional users, content and items for sale.
Generally, added features and functionality are deemed to be elements of the ongoing revision and
maintenance of the eBay site. Hardware and software purchases and customization associated with revisions have
been capitalized in accordance with company policy and are included in computer equipment and software. Due
to the speed of change and continuous nature of site revision, internal expenses often are judged to have useful
lives of less than one year, or have been more appropriately classified as maintenance related costs. As such,
these costs are expensed as incurred.
Expand Value-Added Services. In order to offer an end-to-end personal trading service, the Company
intends to provide a variety of ‘‘pre-trade’’ and ‘‘post-trade’’ services to enhance the user experience and make
trading easier. ‘‘Pre-trade’’ services make listing items for sale easier and include photo hosting, authentication
and seller productivity software. ‘‘Post-trade’’ services make transactions easier and more comfortable to
consummate, such as payment facilitation, insurance, escrow, shipping and postage. The company currently
provides, or will provide, these services directly or through strategic partnerships with third parties.
Key improvements implemented during 1999 include:
●the acquisition and partial implementation of Billpoint, which enables person-to-person payment on the
Internet. In February 2000, eBay announced a strategic relationship with Wells Fargo & Co.
(‘‘Wells Fargo’’) to jointly address the growing need for person to person payments on the Internet. As
part of the relationship, Wells Fargo purchased a 35% equity interest in Billpoint from Billpoint. Wells
Fargo also entered into a long-term payment processing and customer care contract with Billpoint;
●a strategic relationship with E-Stamp to offering electronic postage to users of eBay; and
●the acquisition of Blackthorne Software which offers the leading seller productivity software under the
‘‘Auction Assistant’’ brand.
The company anticipates that future service offerings may include services to facilitate the uploading and
hosting of photos of listed items, the shipment of products and expanding the Billpoint payment solution to more
of the eBay community and the Internet community at large.
Develop International Markets. The Company believes that the Internet provides a significant opportunity
for the creation of a global trading market. The Company intends to take advantage of this opportunity by
leveraging the eBay service and brand name internationally by developing eBay for selected international
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