The papers never get it right. The eBay numbers that is. So it’s worth revisiting them every now and again, especially since eBay reported Q406 and full 2006 numbers last week. It is dazzling how big eBay is.
I’ve pulled this info from the earnings call, a transcript of which lives here.
To the end of 2006, eBay has nearly 222 million eBay users, 133 million PayPal accounts and 171 million Skype users.
eBay’s 2006 turnover/revenue was almost $6bn, up 31% on 2005. It made about $2 billion in non-GAAP operating income and ended the year with $3.5 billion in cash and repurchased $1.7 billion worth of eBay shares.
eBay doesn’t break out membership numbers by nation but it usually offers a few snippets: for about a year it has stated that eBay.co.uk has 15m members. eBay.co.uk peaked at an all-time high and welcomed 6.7 million shoppers in the first week of December. It was also revealed that eBay penetration in the UK is greater than any other country in the world. There is more traded on eBay.co.uk per head of population than anywhere else, including the US: about £50 a year.
Is that 222 million unique users, 222 million active IDs, 222 million currently registered IDs. or 222 IDs that have *ever* been registered (including the currently NARU ones)?
I have this theory that all the eBay users EVER are one bored housewife in Idaho and one Chinese wholesaler, who have 111 million IDs each…