The first quarter turned profitable for eBay who makes every effort to make its marketplaces more attractive to online shoppers. More people were purchasing items on the ecommerce site and more merchants used its PayPal payment system.

The first quarter revenue increased by 15.9% to $2.55 billion supported by a 23% growth at PayPal and a 12% rise at its marketplaces, says eBay.

EBay is in the final stages of a three-year plan to revitalize its marketplaces unit, whose growth had slowed.

"It's proof that eBay is doing a good job of matching buyers with quality sellers," said Colin Gillis, an analyst with BGC Partners.

Over the past time eBay has made a number of acquisitions to expand in the market including a $2 billion purchase of ecommerce services firm GSI Commerce.

"We're focused on redefining retail and leading the next generation of commerce and payments," eBay Chief Executive John Donahoe told analysts on a conference call.