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Dear Yahoo!:
What was the first thing ever sold on eBay?
Ken
Detroit, Michigan
Dear Ken:
Once upon a time, many wondered if a company like eBay would even work. Since then, the online auction house has silenced the doubters. While it's technically a rival of ours, we can't help but admire its inventory -- everything from fake vomit to Lamborghinis is just a click away. Ah, but of all those millions of sales, which was the very first?

EBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995. Though he's now a billionaire (of course), Pierre started AuctionWeb (as it was then known) as a simple "side hobby." In late '95, Pierre made history when he sold eBay's first item -- a broken laser pointer he had originally bought as a cat toy.

Amazingly, the buyer paid $14.00 for the kaput pointer. We imagine it was about this time Pierre realized he was on the cusp of creating something great.

It's true that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. But if it is broke, maybe you should forget about the repairs and just sell it.

 
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