Your Home Likely Has $4,000 Worth of Sellable Items Just Collecting Dust, According to eBay’s CEO
The CEO of eBay, Jamie Iannone, said that the company has created many “accidental entrepreneurs.”
Key Takeaways
- The CEO of eBay, Jamie Iannone, says that the average household has $3,000 to $4,000 of items just sitting around that are worth selling.
- One of the most popular categories on the site was collectibles like trading cards.
- The company’s market value was over $40 billion at the time of writing.
The CEO of eBay, Jamie Iannone, says that you’re likely sitting on treasures worth thousands of dollars.
On Yahoo Finance’s Opening Bid Unfiltered podcast this week, Iannone said that an average household contains at least $3,000 to $4,000 worth of items that could be sold online. Collectibles like Pokémon cards and trading cards, for example, were a “massive business” that contributed to $10 billion worth of products sold annually.
“The whole idea is to unlock what’s in people’s closets and garages and houses,” Iannone said on the podcast. “And so, really unlocking all of that amazing inventory.”
The online retailer and auction site turned 30 years old this month and has 134 million active buyers using the platform during the second quarter of the year, according to the company. The company’s market value was over $40 billion at the time of writing, and its stock was up over 46% year-to-date.
Iannone became eBay’s CEO in 2020. Since then, the company’s market capitalization has grown by $7 billion.
Iannone highlighted that not all sellers on eBay intended to become entrepreneurs or create a side hustle — they were simply looking for ways to make extra cash. Besides collectibles, secondhand items are popular on eBay, especially among younger buyers. Iannone said that nearly half of the items (40%) sold on the site are used or refurbished.
“We have a lot of accidental entrepreneurs, people that didn’t intend to build a business on eBay, they just needed money,” Iannone said on the podcast. “So they turned to eBay to make a little extra money and turned that into a side business.”
In July, eBay reported its second-quarter 2025 results, posting revenue of $2.7 billion, up 6% from the same time last year. Gross merchandise volume of products sold on eBay was $19.5 billion for the quarter, also up 6%.
Key Takeaways
- The CEO of eBay, Jamie Iannone, says that the average household has $3,000 to $4,000 of items just sitting around that are worth selling.
- One of the most popular categories on the site was collectibles like trading cards.
- The company’s market value was over $40 billion at the time of writing.
The CEO of eBay, Jamie Iannone, says that you’re likely sitting on treasures worth thousands of dollars.
On Yahoo Finance’s Opening Bid Unfiltered podcast this week, Iannone said that an average household contains at least $3,000 to $4,000 worth of items that could be sold online. Collectibles like Pokémon cards and trading cards, for example, were a “massive business” that contributed to $10 billion worth of products sold annually.
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