June 13: Comparing eBay and Amazon in 1999

23 years later eBay has the same $25B market cap while Amazon’s $22B market cap has risen almost 50X.

Source: Business Week
Published: May 1999

Comparing eBay and Amazon in 1999

eBay

Core business: Helps people buy and sell collectibles and antiques
Number of items for sale: 2 million
Market capitalization: $25 billion
Customer base: 3.8 million
Gross merchandise sales: $746 million
Profitability: $2 million
What’s next: Expand into cars and furniture.
Grow internationally.
Add fixed-price offers.
Brand recognition among U.S. adults: 32% (63 million)

Amazon

Core business: Helps people find almost anything they want to buy online
Number of items for sale: 16 million
Market capitalization: $22 billion
Customer base: 8.4 million
Gross merchandise sales: $610 million
Profitability: -$124 million
What’s next: Regularly add new categories and items.
Expansion of its merchant-referral program (Amazon Associates).
Brand recognition among U.S. adults: 52% (101 million)

Bonus: market capitalization is $26 billion for eBay and $1.1 trillion for Amazon.

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