EBay Inc., the world’s biggest Internet auctioneer, tumbled in late trading after it projected first-quarter sales and profit that were below analysts’ estimates.

EBay, based in San Jose, Calif., fell 5.7 percent to $12.53 at press time yesterday. The shares gained 73 cents, or 5.8 percent, to $13.28 in regular Nasdaq trading. They plunged 58 percent last year.

First-quarter earnings will be 32 cents to 34 cents a share, the company said, compared with 39 cents, the average estimate of 17 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Revenue will be $1.8 billion to $2.05 billion, compared with an average estimate of $2.1 billion.

Sales fell 6.6 percent to $2.04 billion in the fourth quarter, eBay’s first quarterly revenue decline, as sellers cut prices and the company boosted promotions to lure more holiday shoppers online amid the US recession.