etoys.com
Year First Appeared
1997
Creator
Edward C. “Toby” Lenk
eToys.com was an online toy retailer launched in 1997 that went bankrupt in 2001. The domain has been owned by Toys R Us since 2009.
Importance in Internet Culture
The rise and fall of eToys epitomizes the late‑1990s dot‑com boom and bust, illustrating how rapid valuation, aggressive growth, and inventory challenges reshaped early e‑commerce expectations.
Interesting Fact
In 1999 eToys sued the Swiss net‑art collective etoy over the etoy.com domain, sparking the “Toywar”; the case was settled in early 2000 with eToys reimbursing the artists up to $40, 000 and dropping the lawsuit.