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	Press Releases for July 2005

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Small Business Success Through E-Commerce and Community - July 29, 2005

Toronto, ON - October 16 to 22, 2005 is National Small Business Week in Canada. And as the country celebrates the small business enterprises that continue to propel the Canadian economy, eBay Canada marks the success of Canadian eBay entrepreneurs who are using The World?s Online Marketplace™ to sell almost anything, from cars and industrial supplies to fashion, computers and consumer electronics - to an entire world of buyers. Last year alone, over 135 million registered users traded more than $34 billion USD worth of goods. Today, eBay is one of the best places on the Internet to start and operate a small business with more than 430,000 individuals in North America earning all or part of their income on the site.

This year, eBay Canada established the eBay Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year Awards to honour the best of eBay's Canadian entrepreneurs. The winners will be announced during Small Business Week in October, and will recognize Canadian eBay sellers who continue to set the standard for owning and operating a successful online business, using the eBay platform to conduct business and trade internationally.

eBay sellers represent a diverse group of entrepreneurs and small business owners who operate both full-time and part-time businesses from their homes or offices. They span dozens of industries and utilize eBay to find the equipment, supplies and resources they need to start, operate and grow their businesses internationally, without the costly overhead of a traditional "four walls" storefront. For businesses with established bricks and mortar operations, eBay offers a complementary distribution channel for their products. eBay also provides a safe, secure and user-friendly marketplace with access to a global buying community regardless of the location of the buyer or seller.

"eBay has leveled the playing field among entrepreneurs, small businesses and multi-national companies," says Jordan Banks, managing director, eBay Canada. "eBay provides business owners with an online 'storefront' as well as access to a global marketplace. It also offers a new global frontier, opening up borders traditionally closed off by geography and distance, giving the entrepreneur in downtown Vancouver and business owner in rural Saskatchewan, the same access to the same buying community in the same real-time."

Making the Case for Connectivity

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) - businesses of fewer than 500 employees - are the lifeblood of the Canadian economy, accounting for 99 per cent of Canadian companies and contributing significantly to job creation and growth.¹ Establishing an e-business enables SMEs to substantially reduce costs and streamline operations to produce better and faster service. This allows them to remain competitive in today's fast-paced global economy. In a best-case scenario, small businesses can increase net profits by more than 150 per cent due to changes in revenues and costs, brought about by the adoption of internet business strategies.²

"We are continuing to witness an increased and sustained adoption of Internet strategies by Canadian entrepreneurs and small businesses," says Nancy Hughes Anthony, president and CEO, Canadian Chamber of Commerce. "The widespread use of the Internet has proven to be a central factor in propelling entrepreneurialism, industrial growth, productivity and wealth creation. Access to a global marketplace through Internet platforms such as eBay creates new market opportunities for e-commerce entrepreneurs to increase their international competitiveness, by allowing them to deliver real returns, making them more productive and profitable."

On average, small businesses make the greatest contribution to new job creation. In 2003, SMEs employed close to 6.7 million or 65 per cent of all employees in the Canadian private sector.³ With the growing number of Internet-based business, and over 50 per cent of SMEs in Canada adopting e-commerce business strategies, the Internet is also driving small business job creation. eBay reports that of its most active sellers in the U.S., (eBay calls them "PowerSellers"), almost 50 per cent have two or more employees and 35 per cent have three or more employees.

About eBay Canada

eBay is the World's Online Marketplace®. Founded in 1995, eBay created a powerful platform for the sale of goods and services by a passionate community of individuals and businesses. On any given day, there are millions of items across thousands of categories for sale on eBay. eBay enables trade on a local, national and international basis with customized sites in markets around the world. Through an array of services, such as its payment solution provider PayPal, eBay is enabling global e-commerce for an ever-growing online community. In Canada, eBay was visited by more than 8.9 million Canadians in May, 2005. (ComScore Media Metrix, May 2005)

For more information, please contact Shawna Rossi or Janet Galway at Cohn & Wolfe. Tel: 416-924-5700. Email: shawna_rossi@ca.cohnwolfe.com