eBay 2004 Annual Report Download - page 4

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PART I
FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This report contains statements that involve expectations, plans or intentions (such as those relating to
future business or Ñnancial results, new features or services, or management strategies). These statements are
forward-looking and are subject to risks and uncertainties, so actual results may vary materially. You can
identify these forward-looking statements by words such as ""may,'' ""will,'' ""should,'' ""expect,'' ""anticipate,''
""believe,'' ""estimate,'' ""intend,'' ""plan'' and other similar expressions. You should consider our forward-
looking statements in light of the risks discussed under the heading ""Risk Factors That May AÅect Results of
Operations and Financial Condition'' in Item 7, as well as our consolidated Ñnancial statements, related notes,
and the other Ñnancial information appearing elsewhere in this report and our other Ñlings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.
ITEM 1: BUSINESS
eBay Inc. was formed as a sole proprietorship in September 1995 and was incorporated in California in
May 1996. In April 1998, we reincorporated in Delaware and in September 1998 we completed the initial
public oÅering of our common stock. Our principal executive oÇces are located at 2145 Hamilton Avenue,
San Jose, California, 95125, and our telephone number is (408) 376-7400. When we refer to ""we,'' ""our'' or
""eBay'' in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, we mean the current Delaware corporation (eBay Inc.) and its
California predecessor, as well as all of our consolidated subsidiaries. When we refer to ""eBay.com,'' we mean
the online marketplace located at www.ebay.com. When we refer to ""PayPal.com,'' we mean the online
payments platform located at www.paypal.com.
Our Purpose and Our Mission
Our purpose is to pioneer new communities around the world built on commerce, sustained by trust, and
inspired by opportunity.
We currently have two major businesses: the eBay Marketplace and PayPal. Our eBay Marketplace
Mission is to create the world's online marketplace. Our PayPal Mission is to create the new global standard
for online payments.
eBay Marketplace
Our marketplace exists as an online trading platform that enables a global community of buyers and
sellers to interact and trade with one another. Our role is to create, maintain, and expand the functionality,
safety, ease-of-use, and reliability of our trading platform while, at the same time, supporting the growth and
success of our community of users.
Trading Platform
Our trading platform is a fully automated, topically arranged, intuitive and easy-to-use online service that
seeks to provide availability 24 hours a day, seven days a week, enabling sellers to list items for sale in either
auction or Ñxed-price formats, buyers to bid for and purchase items of interest, and all eBay users to browse
through listed items from any place in the world at any time. The platform includes software tools and
services, available either for no charge or for a fee, that allow buyers and sellers to trade with one another more
easily. Our software tools and services are designed to make our trading process easier and more eÇcient.
These tools and services include: Turbo Lister, Seller's Assistant, Selling Manager and Selling Manager Pro,
which help automate the selling process; Picture Services, which enables sellers to include pictures in their
listings; the Shipping Calculator, which makes it easier for buyers and sellers to calculate shipping costs;
Shipping Labels, which allows sellers to print U.S. Postal Service postage and UPS labels; Shipment
Tracking, which enables sellers to track their shipped packages; the eBay Toolbar, which helps eBay users stay
connected with eBay wherever they are on the Internet; eBay Sales Reports and eBay Sales Reports Plus,
which provide sales and fee information to sellers; and PayPal, which facilitates the online exchange of funds.
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