The The I'm your host, Brian McCullough.

Before we get in today's episode, which will be our long delayed latest chapter episode, finishing up on eBay. I wanted to take the time

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When we last left the story of eBay, it was still called auction web, not eBay, and it had

only recently transitioned from being a side project and a hobby to something approximating a real business. But things

were happening quite rapidly for the small team working on card table desks in

the cramped quarters of a converted dentist office in Campbell, California.

When Mary Lou Song had joined the company in October of 1996 and began making concerted efforts to reach out to and organize the growing auction web

community of buyers and sellers.

It hosted only about 28,000 auctions.

But then came what would be known as the Great eBay Flood.

In January of 1997, eBay slash auction web would host 200,000 auctions in that month alone.

The site had only hosted 250,000 auctions in the entire previous calendar year. As they progress deeper into the first quarter of the year, the auction webers realize that the site was on track to have a run rate total of 4.3 million dollars for hosting all these new sales.

And Auction Web had only made about 350,000 in all of 1996.

So again, they were on track for an... 50,000 in all of 1996.

...