# Meg's ebay. **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 26, 2010, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megs-ebay/555060 "2010-09-26T00:47:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megs-ebay/555060/1 "2010-09-26T00:47:06Z")
Meg Whitman says in her commercial that she grew ebay to 15000 enployees. Does she mean employees of ebay, hired and paid by ebay, or does she also count the sellers on ebay. I don’t deal with them, so I know little about their size, but that that sounds like a lot for a company that has no product. No physical product. You know what I mean. Chevron, the company I work for, has about 64,000 full time employees but they have stuff all over the world, and a lot of product. This is going to be fun, this election. Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megs-ebay/555060/2 "2010-09-26T00:53:10Z")
Wikipedia says ebay has 15,500 employees. Apparenlty it only had 30 when she was hired, so her claim is probably true. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megs-ebay/555060/3 "2010-09-26T01:04:23Z")
By comparison, Craigs list has 33 employees, so I guess her political opponents could say she hired 500 people to do the work Craigslist needs 1 person to do 🙂 But ebay also owns paypal, several other online shopping type properties, and even the site itself needs a lot more oversite and management then Craigslist in order to settle disputes, collect revenues, etc. Its a pretty big operation, so 15000 doesnt sound wildly implausible to me. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megs-ebay/555060/4 "2010-09-26T01:17:24Z")
Did she also mention that eBay is a pain in the ass to use, and seller-unfriendly and that their fees are too damned high? ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megs-ebay/555060/5 "2010-09-26T01:17:38Z")
Meg has to deal with claims she outsourced 40 percent of the Ebay jobs. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megs-ebay/555060/6 "2010-09-26T01:32:45Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > Meg Whitman says in her commercial that she grew ebay to 15000 enployees. Does she mean employees of ebay, hired and paid by ebay, or does she also count the sellers on ebay. There must be tens of millions of sellers on Ebay. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megs-ebay/555060/7 "2010-09-26T02:00:16Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > > [@mangeorge](#): > > > > Meg Whitman says in her commercial that she grew ebay to 15000 enployees. Does she mean employees of ebay, hired and paid by ebay, or does she also count the sellers on ebay. > > There must be tens of millions of sellers on Ebay. I guess! I just read about ebay on wikipedia (thanks **Simplicio**. I didn’t realize the scope of the company. I do know they have a rep for being anti-gun. I do know that I compared selling prices there to IRL, and didn’t see any advantage. But that was years ago. at any rate, it seems that ebay almost built itself. Millions of people went kinda wacko over it. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megs-ebay/555060/8 "2010-09-26T20:54:25Z")
A quick google returned this on eBay… Headquarters San Francisco Bay Area Industry Internet Type Public Company Status Operating Company Size 15,000 employees 2009 Revenue $8,700,000,000 Founded 1995 Website [http://www.ebayinc.com](http://www.ebayinc.com) Edit -oops… [http://www.linkedin.com/companies/ebay](http://www.linkedin.com/companies/ebay) ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megs-ebay/555060/9 "2010-09-26T22:17:56Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > I guess! I just read about ebay on wikipedia (thanks **Simplicio**. I didn’t realize the scope of the company. I do know they have a rep for being anti-gun. I think it’s more that there are pretty strict regulations and prohibitions around mail-order selling of guns, and not so much a personal opinion of the company. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2010, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megs-ebay/555060/10 "2010-09-26T22:49:21Z")
Shit, that’s only half a million dollars per employee. I wouldnt’ vote for her just based on that. That’s a pretty crappy ROI for a technology/web company. Shit, that’s embarrassing. (And just so people are clear, I am not being facetious). ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megs-ebay/555060/11 "2010-09-27T00:16:23Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > > [@mangeorge](#): > > > > I guess! I just read about ebay on wikipedia (thanks **Simplicio**. I didn’t realize the scope of the company. I do know they have a rep for being anti-gun. > > I think it’s more that there are pretty strict regulations and prohibitions around mail-order selling of guns, and not so much a personal opinion of the company. No, it’s ebay’s own rule. Unless thet’ve changed, they allow sales of nothing gun related. Rumor was that it qas Meg’s own prejudice, but I can’t swear to that. Anyway, here’s a [supplier’s](http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/SquareDeals.aspx) take on shipping. I’ve purchased a lot of stuff from these guys and ohers. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megs-ebay/555060/12 "2010-09-27T13:19:57Z")
Here’s ebay’s [fierarms](http://pages.ebay.com/help/policies/firearms-weapons-knives.html) policy. Scroll down a little and click on the blue “firearms” linky. If you want to pay someone else for a gun on paypal, you need to disguise the transaction, I think. It’s been a while since I’ve bought anything gun related online. I do like using paypal, though. Many GOs won’t even do that. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2010, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megs-ebay/555060/13 "2010-09-27T14:18:29Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > No, it’s ebay’s own rule. Unless thet’ve changed, they allow sales of nothing gun related. Rumor was that it qas Meg’s own prejudice, but I can’t swear to that. That’s not a bug, it’s a _feature_.😃 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megs-ebay/555060/14 "2010-10-04T03:04:19Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > No, it’s ebay’s own rule. Unless thet’ve changed, they allow sales of nothing gun related. I bought a holster for a pistol on the site a couple of years ago. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megs-ebay/555060/15 "2010-10-04T13:20:54Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > > [@mangeorge](#): > > > > No, it’s ebay’s own rule. Unless thet’ve changed, they allow sales of nothing gun related. > > I bought a holster for a pistol on the site a couple of years ago. I meant _directly_ gun related. Things that go “bang”. 😉 You can read their policy where I linked to. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megs-ebay/555060/16 "2010-10-04T14:36:07Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > > [@carnivorousplant](#): > > > > I bought a holster for a pistol on the site a couple of years ago. > > I meant _directly_ gun related. Things that go “bang”. 😉 > You can read their policy where I linked to. Something that goes bang is not “gun related” it’s a freaking gun, a holster is gun related. They don’t allow the sale of guns, they allow the sale of gun related items like holsters and gun racks. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megs-ebay/555060/17 "2010-10-04T15:05:43Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > > [@mangeorge](#): > > > > I meant _directly_ gun related. Things that go “bang”. 😉 > > You can read their policy where I linked to. > > Something that goes bang is not “gun related” it’s a freaking gun, a holster is gun related. They don’t allow the sale of guns, they allow the sale of gun related items like holsters and gun racks. Did you read their policy? Bullets go bang, not guns. Do you know what a “winkie” means? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2010, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megs-ebay/555060/18 "2010-10-04T22:07:34Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > Bullets go bang, not guns. > Do you know what a “winkie” means? 😉 So do those little flags. Winkie is the name of the elephant that killed [Joanna Burke](http://www.elephant-news.com/index.php?id=1110) in Tennessee. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2010, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/megs-ebay/555060/19 "2010-11-03T18:43:07Z")
This is the latest info I could find > [@](#): > > The 15,471 includes both part time, full time and temporary hires, and includes the eBay, PayPal and Skype. > > US employees 9,089 > Employees outside U.S. 6,382 > > Most common salaried job: Software Engineer (Grade 4) $129,099 > Most comon hourly job: Contact Agent (level II) $30,212 Source: [Money.Com](http://Money.Com) (February 2, 2009)