eBay is an online auctioneering web site that allows Internet users to sign up and be bidder or sellers.  By bidding, you can purchase items up for sale by other users.  Items range from baseball cards to video games to airplanes.  eBay strictly regulates what can and cannot be sold.  For example, although you can list an organ for sale on eBay, once they see it, they will take it down and you face repercussions.  eBay does an incredible job taking care of both buyer and seller while maintaining a profitable auction environment for users.

The eBay web site works on two levels. You can be a buyer, a seller or both. Generally, you sign up as a buyer and work your way up to a seller once you learn the ins and outs of how eBay works. As a buyer, you have the opportunity to bid on items you want easily. Once you win an item, you pay the seller and they ship it to you. Once received, you leave feedback for the seller which lets others know they are reputable. The seller does the same to let others know you are reliable with paying for items on the web site.

As a seller, you can either list individual items or create a store. Normally, after you have sold for awhile, you would create a store but some folks sign up for eBay just for that purpose. You pay eBay a fee for each item you sell, but you set the pricing for each item so if you factor that in ahead of time, you break more than even. Every time you sell an item, the buyer rates you and vice versa. This helps each user on eBay know who is an honest, trustworthy person to deal with on the web site.

There are no other sites that work quite like eBay does on the Internet.  While many sites offer smaller versions, none are as tightly regulated or run as smoothly as eBay does.  Since eBay also has name recognition, most people will give it a shot over smaller web sites that do not offer the same set-up, regulation or feedback system.