eBay Inc. is the world's largest online marketplace and auction site, with more than 90 million active users globally. Founded in 1995 in San Jose, California, by Pierre Omidyar, the first item sold on eBay was a broken laser pointer for $14.83 (quote). eBay's first target market was collectors and antique sellers. Now eBay connects a diverse community of buyers, sellers and many small businesses around the world. Virtually anyone can buy and sell anything on eBay. eBay has a strong impact on e-commerce: in 2009, the total value of goods sold on eBay was $60 billion, or $2,000 per second (quote). Even as eBay engages in e-commerce, system failures, lack of control over counterfeit products, and exposure to Internet fraud pose threats to eBay as they drive buyers and sellers away from using eBay.com. Problem 1: System failuresCause: Third party services are not accessibleImpact: Reduces current and future sales and harms customer businessRecommendation: Improve system monitoring and provide adequate warningSystem failures lead to the unavailability of many eBay services such as PayPal and Skype . eBay Inc. acquired PayPal in 2002. Since then, PayPal's customer base has grown in both eBay and e-commerce (quote). eBay uses PayPal for one of its online payment methods. Long-term system failures increase operational risk for eBay. In 2008, eBay.com was down for up to 22 hours and PayPal was unavailable for five consecutive days (quote). Another of eBay's services is Skype. The company was acquired by eBay in September 2005 for $2.6 billion (cite=dm). eBay users use Skype for a faster means of communication, allowing users to make video calls and voice calls... middle of paper... meetings are unlikely to be very successful in garnering significant bids for merchandise. Additionally, eBay maintains a comprehensive fraud protection program, with staff monitoring the company's sites for questionable activity. The company also offers escrow and insurance services for higher-priced items (Standard and Poor's citation). eBay has always done very well at focusing its company's goals and has been quick to seize opportunities such as acquiring services, such as PayPal and Skype. Meanwhile, the weaknesses and threats mentioned above; System failures, lack of control over counterfeit products and exposure to Internet fraud are the main problems affecting eBay and its target market. These problems have a negative effect on eBay and may lead many users to stop using eBay.com. eBay needs to solve and address these issues to attract new users.