Note 9 - Commitments and Contingencies Schedule of Commitments and Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements (Details) (USD $) In Billions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2013 arrangements
Commitments Details
Number of cash pooling arrangements	2
Pooling arrangement, cash withdrawals	$ 5.7
Pooling arrangement, aggregate cash deposits	5.7
Unused lines of Credit [Member]
Commitments
Unused commitment to extend credit	$ 13

The unused amount of credit eBay has commited to make available to our customers through issued lines of credit,

No definition available.

Name:	ebay_UnusedCommitmentToExtendCreditToCustomers
Namespace Prefix:	ebay_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	instant