eBay said its users transacted $3.11 billion in gross merchandise sales (GMS) during the first quarter of 2002. Auction listings reached 138 million, representing a 55% increase from the 89 million reported in the same quarter last year.
Fixed-price offerings contributed more than 19% of total gross merchandise sales. GMS on completed “Buy It Now” auctions remained constant even as eBay introduced a $.05 fee for the feature. In addition, over 25,000 users paid monthly subscription fees for eBay Stores storefronts.
Net online transaction revenues, which exclude revenues from third party advertising and end-to-end services, reached $213.7 million for the quarter, representing 65% year-over-year growth from the $129.7 million reported in Q1 2001.
The figures came as part of eBay's release of financial results on Thursday for the first quarter of 2002. The company earned $47.6 million in net income for the first quarter of 2002 on revenues of $245.1 million. For the full year 2002, eBay expects that net revenues will approximate $1.1 billion, representing the high end of its previous guidance of $1.05 billion to $1.1 billion. Net revenues from international operations totaled $53 million, 21% of consolidated net revenues.
eBay also said it eliminated 1 million user IDs when it integrated the accounts of Half.com users into eBay in February, and it ended the quarter with 46.1 million user IDs worldwide.
Extrapolating first quarter data, eBay said four categories now represent billion dollar businesses in annual terms: eBay Motors ($2.5 billion); Computers ($1.4 billion); Consumer Electronics ($1.2 billion); and Books/Movies/Music ($1.1 billion). eBay’s ten largest categories in Q1 2002 were:
eBay Motors
Computers
Consumer Electronics
Book/Movies/Music
Collectibles
Sports
Toys
Clothing & Accessories
Jewelry & Gemstones
Antiques & Art.
eBay said it would increase marketing expenditures in the second quarter both domestically and internationally. Its own revenue from accepting advertising declined in the first quarter.
