The news wasn’t so good over at eBay. The online marketplace reported its first decline in revenue since the company began in 1995, as well as a 31 percent decline in profit.

Compared with its revenue in the same quarter a year ago, eBay’s revenue fell 7 percent, to $2.04 billion. The decline in sales can largely be attributed to lower revenue from eBay’s Marketplaces unit, which includes the eBay auction site.

The eBay auction site reported a 16 percent decline in revenue during the quarter, largely due to overall transaction volume falling by 12 percent, its second consecutive quarter of decline.

Meanwhile, eBay’s decision to diversify by acquiring such services as PayPal and Skype seems to have paid off. If it wasn’t for their respective performances, eBay’s quarterly financial report may have been worse.

PayPal saw revenue increase by 11 percent, as total payment volume rose 14 percent, while Skype revenue increased 26 percent over the same period in 2008.

According to eBay, the October to December quarter marks the first time the majority of PayPal’s volume derived from sites not affiliated with eBay.

Source: Laurie J. Flynn, “EBay’s Income Declines 31% as Economy Reduces Traffic,” The New York Times, January 21, 2009

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