When it comes to shopping online, two of the biggest names are Amazon and eBay. While both companies differ in their setup, both are extremely popular.
Considering how well-known these two brands are, you may be wondering if Amazon owns eBay. I thought this too, so I looked into it, and here’s what I found out!
Does Amazon Own eBay?
Amazon doesn’t own eBay, and there’s no connection between the two e-commerce companies, although both are often considered competitors. There has been recent speculation that Amazon could buy eBay, but this is purely speculation, and Amazon has made no official indication that it plans to buy eBay anytime soon.
If you want to know more about Amazon and eBay, including which one makes more money and what the main subsidiaries are, then keep reading!
How Are Amazon and eBay Different?
Amazon and eBay are both online shopping sites with interactive storefronts and high-tech solutions to make the customer experience easier.
However, the two companies remain separate with no affiliation.
While both sides have evolved to meet consumer demands, they have different business models and pricing structures, and seller services vary on each platform.
That said, Amazon sells its own brand products and has nearly two million third-party merchants selling thousands of items.
Therefore, Amazon functions as a traditional retail store except online, while eBay is similar to an auction house.
To increase inventory and customer satisfaction, both Amazon and eBay rely on third-party merchants to list items for sale or auction, respectively.
Also, Amazon has grown to be much larger than eBay. For example, Amazon ranks second on the Fortune 500 list, while eBay is ranked much lower at spot 276.
Why Did I Receive an Amazon Package After Order From eBay?
In rare situations, customers who purchased from an eBay store might actually receive an Amazon-wrapped and shipped parcel. Which, understandably, adds to the confusion of the relationship between these two companies.
If this is to happen to you, this is likely the eBay seller using something called Amazon to eBay arbitrage.
In a nutshell, the eBay seller finds a product listed on Amazon and then lists that same product on eBay at a slightly marked-up price and keeps the difference. So when a purchase is made, the seller buys it from Amazon and puts in the address of the eBay buyer.
Additionally, the eBay seller might also have two online stores (eBay and Amazon) but only do the fulfillment and shipping from Amazon.
Has Amazon Tried To Buy eBay?
There are no confirmed reports of Amazon or other companies trying to buy eBay.
While eBay remains an independent company, it has completed sales of some parts of the business in recent years.
For example, the most notable transaction is the sale of eBay Classifieds to Adevinta for $9.2 billion in July 2020.
Also, eBay Enterprise was sold to a Consortium for $925 million in November 2015.
Due to these sales, eBay may entertain other offers in the future, and Amazon is a possible contender as it continues to grow while eBay faces more challenges.
Will Amazon Buy eBay?
Currently, Amazon has not confirmed any plans to buy eBay, although Forbes Magazine speculated that Amazon could buy eBay in a cash deal.
That said, the main reasons for this speculation are recent changes in leadership at both companies and Amazon’s substantial increase in revenue.
Currently, Amazon is worth a whopping $1.75 trillion, a market valuation significantly higher than eBay’s value of $49.1 billion.
Additionally, Amazon’s annual revenue increased 38% in 2020 to reach $386 billion, up more than $100 billion from the year before.
Based on these facts, eBay just can’t compete with those eye-watering numbers right now, as the company’s net revenue of around $9.5 billion leaves it far behind Amazon.
Therefore, it’s possible Amazon could buy eBay in the future, although it’s truly anyone’s guess what companies Amazon will look to acquire moving forward.
What Companies Does Amazon Own?
Although Amazon doesn’t own eBay, it does own plenty of other companies with a portfolio of over 100 subsidiaries and private-label brands.
For example, some of the key brands owned by Amazon include Twitch, Zappos, Whole Foods Market, Audible, IMDb, and Pillpack.
Then, there are all the Amazon name brands like Amazon Basics, Amazon Alexa, and Amazon Essentials.
However, the biggest Amazon acquisitions include the $8.45 billion purchase of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in May 2021 and the $13.7 billion Amazon deal to buy Whole Foods Market in 2017.
Also, Amazon bought live streaming platform Twitch in a $970 million cash deal in 2014, a few years after purchasing the online shoe store Zappos for $928 million.
As Amazon is forecast to grow in the years to come, with an estimated $435.3 billion in revenue for 2021 alone, the e-commerce giant is definitely in a good position to buy eBay if it wants to.
What Companies Does eBay Own?
Amazon may be known for its ambitious acquisitions, but eBay owns a fair few companies too.
Since its founding in 1995, eBay has acquired dozens of auction houses, classified advertising, and e-commerce companies.
Further, the biggest eBay deals include the $2.8 billion purchase of Skype Technologies in 2009 and a 2002 deal to buy PayPal for $1.5 billion.
However, eBay chose to sell Skype to Microsoft in 2011, and in 2015 PayPal was spun off into an independent company.
But eBay still owns Auction Co., iBazar, GittiGidiyor, G-Market, Half.com, and Qoo10.jp.
So, while eBay owns global auction and retail sites worldwide in countries like South Korea, Mexico, and Japan, it doesn’t have the same influence on the e-commerce industry as Amazon.
If you want to learn more, you can also see our posts on whether or not Amazon owns Kohl’s, whether Amazon owns Spotify, and if Amazon owns Google.
Conclusion
As two long-standing e-commerce companies, Amazon and eBay are often compared to one another, and some people even think Amazon owns eBay.
So, while Amazon doesn’t own eBay and there’s currently no affiliation between the two companies, there is speculation that Amazon may buy eBay in the future.
For now, Amazon hasn’t made any moves to purchase eBay, although the e-commerce leader recently snapped up MGM movie studio, Whole Foods Market, and Ring.
