The legendary Ebanned shuttered after 23 years of business. Established all the way back in the year 2000, Ebanned was once the preeminent eCommerce site for sexual products. Everything from used panties to dildos were sold there. For many sex workers it was a major source of income.
For those who don’t know electronic auctions were once a leading force on the world wide web. Ebay was one of the first sites on the internet where customers made purchases in any real number. Ebay is still one of the bigger sites on the net of course. But it is nothing like it was during the heyday of online auctions.
These days ordering things online is second nature to a lot of people. In the early days of the internet it was more like the wild west. You never knew exactly what you were going to get. Or what you would find. Everything from a kidney to a woman’s virginity was listed on Ebay over the years.
The original AuctionWeb was created by a single computer programmer in 1995. It was soon making millions of dollars. In 1997 the company changed its name to eBay as it became a corporate entity. It wasn’t long after that the site started purging adult oriented items. You could buy dildos and porn on eBay right up until 2021. But the site started banning other “explicit” items like used panties long before that.
Online auctions go mainstream
As is usually the case a broad ban of adult products did not eliminate the market. People still wanted to make money selling these products. Other people still wanted to buy them. That’s when the now-closed Ebanned was born. It came along to fill a niche. And that’s exactly what the site did for more than two decades.
Ebanned had categories for all sorts of adult products. But the truth is that it was mainly used for sex workers who wanted to sell their used clothing. Used panties were the most common product found on the site. “Well worn” panties often went for the highest sums.
Used shoes and socks were also big sellers on Ebanned. One would imagine they were going to foot fetishists. Then there were all the other products people would sell. Everything from broken in sex toys to homemade lemon deserts were marketed to willing buyers. This went on without incident for years. So what happened?
In the current climate you would be forgiven for expecting that Ebanned was shut down. Or that banks or payment processors pulled the plug on the naughty auction sight. Surprisingly that is not the case. The people behind the site simply decided to retire. So they closed down their website leaving just a brief note behind.
What happened to Ebanned?
Rather than sell their site the people behind Ebanned decided to simply bring the auctions to an end. Rumor has it that they decided not to transfer the site to other owners out of privacy concerns. Though with the internet being the internet direct copies of content from Ebanned started showing up on other websites almost immediately.
Another big surprise is that there is no real competitor to Ebanned. There have always been some minuscule auction sites that allowed people to sell pretty much anything. But none have gained the traction or reputation of Ebanned. A site called Flirt Bids came and went with little fanfare. Time will tell how the new Ebanned marketplace will do. The site is certainly better looking than the old adult auction site.
Indeed internet auctions as a whole have been slowly dying out for years. Even on Ebay the “buy it now” flat price option is quite common. The site has become another marketplace where people can sell their goods for a set fee. As long as they are not adult good of course.
As time marches on things change. The porn industry has been turned upside down by streaming. Most people consume free porn on tube sites to the point that they ignore the option of paying for porn completely. Those who do shell out cash for adult content tend to use direct marketing outlets like Only Fans and Chaturbate.
Only Fans and Chaturbate allow models to sell their goods to consumers too. I’ve seen things like outfits from certain broadcasts and sex shows listed for various prices in recent years. In some ways this eliminates the need for a site like Ebanned. The story of the world’s leading online adult auction house should still be told if only to preserve the history.
