Has eBay Finally Found Its Niche In The Circular Economy?

In 1995, a random shopper purchased a broken laser pointer from a fledgling online auction site and, unbeknown to him at the time, became eBay’s first-ever buyer. The story of this mystery shopper became part of the folklore behind one of the Internet’s biggest and most loved brands.

Twenty years later, Mark Fraser was identified as the legend who bid $14.83 to buy what was essentially a broken item. In a short video celebrating eBay’s 20th anniversary, Fraser revealed the reason behind his purchase. It’s a story that many eBay buyers and sellers will identify with today.

Make do and mend

At the time of the purchase, Fraser worked in a job that took him out on the road to deliver presentations for his company. He had seen other presenters use laser pointers and wanted one to improve his delivery. Unfortunately, he couldn’t afford the $100+ cost of a new device, and his boss was unwilling to buy him one. As a self-proclaimed “electronics geek,” he initially thought he could build one but just couldn’t get it to work. He was then introduced to eBay and, to his surprise, found a broken laser pointer that he believed he could fix (he didn’t).

eBay rapidly evolved from an online flea market Fraser initially discovered to become a legitimate sales venue for…