Note 1 - The Company and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012
Company and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Disclosure [Abstract]
The Company and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies	The Company and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies The Company eBay Inc. (“eBay”) was incorporated in California in May 1996, and reincorporated in Delaware in April 1998. eBay is a global commerce platform and payments leader. We enable commerce through eBay, the world's largest online marketplace, which allows users to buy and sell in nearly every country on earth; through PayPal, which enables individuals and businesses to securely, easily and quickly send and receive online payments; and through GSI, which facilitates ecommerce, multichannel retailing and interactive marketing for global enterprises. X.commerce brings together the technology assets and developer communities of eBay, PayPal and Magento, an ecommerce storefront platform, to support eBay Inc.'s mission of enabling commerce. We also reach millions of people through specialized marketplaces such as StubHub, the world's largest ticket marketplace, and eBay classifieds sites, which together have a presence in more than 1,000 cities around the world. We have three reportable business segments: Marketplaces, Payments and GSI. Our Marketplaces segment includes our eBay.com platform and its localized counterparts and our other online platforms, such as our online classifieds businesses and StubHub. Our Payments segment is comprised of PayPal, Bill Me Later and Zong. Our GSI segment consists of GSI Commerce, Inc. ("GSI"), and was added upon the completion of our acquisition of GSI on June 17, 2011. The results of our new GSI segment have been included in our consolidated results of operations from the acquisition date. We are required to comply with various regulations worldwide in order to operate our businesses, particularly our Payments business. We also partner with banks and other financial institutions in order to offer our Payments services globally. Changes in regulations, non-compliance with regulations or loss of key bank or financial institution partners could have a significant adverse impact on our ability to operate our business; therefore, we monitor these areas closely to mitigate potential adverse impacts. When we refer to “we,” “our,” “us” or “eBay” in this document, we mean the current Delaware corporation (eBay Inc.) and its California predecessor, as well as all of our consolidated subsidiaries. Use of estimates The preparation of condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate our estimates, including those related to provisions for transaction and loan losses, legal contingencies, income taxes, revenue recognition, stock-based compensation and the recoverability of goodwill and intangible assets. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results could differ from those estimates. These condensed consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011. Principles of consolidation and basis of presentation The accompanying condensed financial statements are consolidated and include the financial statements of eBay Inc., our wholly and majority-owned subsidiaries and variable interest entities ("VIE") if we were the primary beneficiary. Ownership interests of minority interests are recorded as a noncontrolling interest. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. A qualitative approach is applied to assess the consolidation requirement for VIEs. Investments in entities where we hold at least a 20% ownership interest and have the ability to exercise significant influence, but not control, over the investee are accounted for using the equity method of accounting. For such investments, our share of the investees' results of operations is included in interest and other, net and our investment balance is included in long-term investments. Investments in entities where we hold less than a 20% ownership interest are generally accounted for using the cost method of accounting, and our share of the investees' results of operations is included in our consolidated statement of income to the extent dividends are received. We have evaluated all subsequent events through the date the financial statements were issued.

The entire disclosure for the organization, consolidation and basis of presentation of financial statements disclosure, and significant accounting policies of the reporting entity. May be provided in more than one note to the financial statements, as long as users are provided with an understanding of (1) the significant judgments and assumptions made by an enterprise in determining whether it must consolidate a VIE and/or disclose information about its involvement with a VIE, (2) the nature of restrictions on a consolidated VIE's assets reported by an enterprise in its statement of financial position, including the carrying amounts of such assets, (3) the nature of, and changes in, the risks associated with an enterprise's involvement with the VIE, and (4) how an enterprise's involvement with the VIE affects the enterprise's financial position, financial performance, and cash flows. Describes procedure if disclosures are provided in more than one note to the financial statements.

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