In the world of Internet marketing, eBay.com was the first ever online auction and shopping Web site. It is still the world's number one online auction site today and the best place on the Internet where people and corporations can buy and sell their products and services in a global setting. Without a doubt, eBay is a heavyweight when it comes to Internet marketing.

In 1995, EBay first made its presence felt in the United States, where many great Internet marketing tools originate. From there, eBay has expanded its reach to cover more than 20 countries worldwide, including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

Today, eBay has expanded its business beyond the online auction and now owns other major Internet marketing companies such as PayPal and Skype.

At the outset, eBay was known as AuctionWeb and was only a small part of a bigger site owned by computer programmer Pierre Omidyar. The first thing ever sold was a laser pointer. It went for the princely sum of $14.83, which isn't bad, considering that it was broken to begin with. The sale was so curious that Omidyar called up the winning bidder to ask him what he was going to do with a broken pointer. The buyer explained simply that, "I'm a collector of broken laser pointers." That story has since been part of Internet marketing lore and just goes to show that you can buy and sell practically anything on eBay.

Barely a year after its birth, eBay was able to sign its first major deal with a third party, Electronic Travel Auction. Ebay did a magnificent job of selling plane tickets and other travel products online. It soon started creating waves in the Internet marketing realm.

In September 1997, the company officially changed its name to eBay, a name that was patterned Echo Bay Technology Group, Omidyar's consulting firm. Omidyar actually tried to get the name EchoBay.com first but it was already taken. A year later, the company went public and Omdiyar became a billionaire literally overnight.

Today, millions of products and services are listed on eBay and millions more are bought and sold on a daily basis. On eBay, you can probably find anything that you'll ever need, including computers, appliances, furniture, collectibles, even cars and other vehicles. EBay also has a wide range of services being offered in its listings. In 2004, the company introduced its Business & Industry category and now sells a wide variety of industrial supplies.

If you're looking to buy or sell novelty items, you can do that on eBay too. EBay has some rare and valuable gems as well as thousands of damaged and dusty gizmos reminiscent of the broken laser pointer that it sold way back in 1996.

EBay is a one-stop shopping paradise for anything and everything on the Internet. It's a valuable addition to any Internet marketing plan.