The first item ever sold on eBay was a broken laser pointer.
eBay is one of the world’s largest online retailers, auctioning off nearly anything you can think of. While vehicles, jewelry, and electronics are some of the most commonly sold items today, there’s one unusual purchase cemented in the digital storefront’s history: a broken laser pointer.
Silicon Valley developer Pierre Omidyar launched eBay from his home in 1995, though originally it was called Auction Web. When it came time to test the online venture, Omidyar decided to list an inexpensive item he already owned, uploading an ad for a broken laser pointer. He had purchased the $30 device for presentations, but ended up using the laser to play with his cat. When the laser pointer broke after a few weeks, the eBay founder listed it online for $1, making sure to clearly label the device as inoperable. After a week, interest picked up, and a bidding war kicked off; the final, winning bid for the laser pointer topped out at $14.83.
Soon after, the online auction marketplace exploded in popularity, and within two years the company had rebranded to its current name and sold its millionth item — a Sesame Street-themed jack-in-the-box toy. However, it would take another two decades for Omidyar’s broken laser pointer to resurface. Canadian Mark Fraser came forward in 2015 amid the company’s 20th anniversary celebration, identifying himself as the very first eBay customer. A self-proclaimed “electronics geek,” he purchased the discounted laser pointer with the hopes of repairing it himself. Although unsuccessful, Fraser held onto the tool for decades and more recently even considered re-listing the item on eBay to see what it would fetch.
Lasers have many practical applications, though when they were first invented in 1960, scientists weren’t sure exactly how they could be used. At one point, the technological breakthrough was considered a “solution seeking a problem.” With more experimenting, lasers slowly became commonly used tools — and one of the first places to utilize them was the grocery store checkout. The first supermarket scanners were installed in Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio, in 1974; paired with the newly devised Uniform Product Code (aka UPC or barcode), the combination could automatically record purchases and tally grocery totals through a computerized system for the first time. A pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit chewing gum was the first item scanned using the system, a choice that wasn’t left to chance — grocery store executives were initially dubious that tiny UPCs could be scanned successfully.
