Bizzare Facts

The revolutionary concept of peer-to-peer online auctions, which would eventually become the multi-billion-dollar platform **eBay**, started with a piece of junk. When programmer **Pierre Omidyar** launched his 'AuctionWeb' site in **1995**, he needed to test if the service actually worked, so he listed his broken laser pointer, fully disclosing its faulty condition.

To his surprise, the item sold for **$14.83**. Believing there must have been a misunderstanding, Omidyar contacted the buyer to confirm that he knew the item was broken. The buyer's reply became an iconic anecdote in tech history: 'I'm a collector of broken laser pointers.'

This unexpected transaction validated Omidyar's core business insight: that the internet could efficiently connect niche buyers and sellers who might never find each other in the physical world. The sale of that broken pointer proved that eBay wasn't just a site for trading commodities, but a thriving marketplace for even the most obscure, oddball passions, and thus, a true reflection of the global marketplace.