WV Executive

A surprising and colorful online bazaar, eBay features millions of goods for sale in thousands of categories—from Grateful Dead Beanie Babies, iPods, used cars and CDs, to vintage handbags, alien embryos, hospital equipment and mullet wigs. Known widely for its auction-style format, the site also offers fixed-price or “Buy It Now” shopping.

And consider yourself warned: eBay is habit-forming.

eBay marked its 10th anniversary earlier this year and has been a public company since 1998. Its numbers are impressive: according to an article in the June 11 issue of The Economist, 150 million users have registered with the site, with 60 million users “active,” having bought or sold within the last year. A July 2005 survey by ACNielsen International Research and available from eBay.com noted that eBay users in America sold roughly $10.6 billion in merchandise in the first half of 2005. The Economist predicts $1 billion in profit for eBay this year.

For some entrepreneurs, eBay is a valuable promotional tool for their products and Web sites. For others, it provides a platform for a part or full-time business run from home. The ACNielsen survey found that more than 724,000 Americans considered eBay their “primary or secondary source of income,” while another 1.5 million individuals used eBay to supplement their earnings.

eBay drop-off stores, stocked with expert eBay sellers, are making this marketplace even more accessible. The global eBay phenomenon has also left its mark on West Virginia.

Mike Blevins, eBay ID: VampireBlackJack

A graphic designer at The Dominion Post newspaper by day, Mike Blevins also mingles with vampires. In September 2004, Blevins invented and trademarked a card game, Ocho Nicole Sheets Vampiros (Spanish for “eight vampires”), which he markets and sells through his business, Cold Harbor AZ Gallery (www. ochovampiros.com). To get the word out about the game in time for the 2004 Christmas shopping season, Blevins advertised on eBay and other sites.

eBay shoppers usually type in keywords to search for items, so selling an unfamiliar product presents a challenge. Blevins took an unusual approach: After finding a bucket of old crayons, he posted them individually on eBay, including “a personality profile of each crayon, including the particular crayon’s talents, likes, dislikes, ambitions; and the promise of an Official Crayon Adoption Certificate to the adopting family,” says Blevins. Each listing included a link to Blevins’ site.

A “vampire crayon: named Lad received the most page views (a counter on eBay listings keeps track of visitors). “All the crayons sold, and I received many hilarious emails from prospective adoptive families,” he says.

By the time eBay fees were deducted, the profit wasn’t much. eBay charges an “insertion fee,” from as little as $0.25 to nearly $5, depending on the item’s value, to list it as an auction; if the item sells, a “final value fee” is exacted from the selling price. For extra fees, sellers can customize their listings with photos, bold type, borders and other features. If a buyer uses PayPal, a popular online payment system owned by eBay, the seller is charged an additional fee for the transaction.

The crayon campaign did bring more people to the Ocho Vampiros site but didn’t translate into increased sales. “Perhaps people who buy used crayons aren’t the same market as people who buy top-shelf card games,” says Blevins. But he still uses eBay periodically for promotions. More recently, Ocho Vampiros has been targeting victims in more than a dozen specific cities, creating Web sites such as www.MiamiVampire.com and LondonVampire.com.

"I haven't quit my day job," Blevins says, "but I'm having a heck of a good time."

Tammy Ratcliff, eBay user ID: tammylee57

After a disabling nerve injury left Tammy Ratcliff unable to work outside the home, she turned to the Internet and to eBay. “The sale that ‘hooked’ me,” Ratcliff says, “was an old cookbook that had been in my cabinets for probably 20 years. It sold for over $25. I was amazed.”

Ratcliff experimented with selling used items, making the rounds at rummage sales, but it was difficult to know what would sell, and what would pile up. Ratcliff found her nicheafter her husband, Chuck, brought home a Case pocketknife. Ratcliff found a Case knives wholesaler, and then came another eBay les son: “I started the bids out at prices that were profitable to me and usually received no bids at all on the knives. Over time, I learned that buyers like true auctions,” she says. “I started them at 99 cents, with bated breath and shaky nerves, and they began to sell. I became a Powerseller on eBay.”

Her business averaged $1,000 or more per month in sales received overwhelmingly positive feedback. Ratcliff enlisted her brother, Kenny Ward, as a partner in listing and selling about 35 knives per week. Ward developed a Web site http://users.zoominternet.net/~mswc/ for the business, which they hope will become a full-time endeavor (and a way to avoid eBay fees). With eBay, “we haven’t lost money overall yet, but are seriously re-examining whether to keep trying,” Ratcliff says.

One of eBay’s advertising mantras—“People are good”—underscores the site’s sense of community. For Ratcliff, it’s been a big part of her eBay experience. As the leader of the West Virginia eBay Sellers Group since 2004, she is also a member of eBay Powerchicks. Last summer, Ratcliff traveled to eBay Live in New Orleans with 30 other Powerchicks. “We had never met in person,” she explains, “but we had gotten to know each other so well in the group that we felt like we had known each other for years.”

Matt Herridge, eBay user ID: wvauctionx-press

“If you really want to know what an item is worth right now in terms of cash value, you go to eBay,” says Matt Herridge, founder and former owner of Auction X-Press, an eBay drop-off store in Kanawha City (http://www.auctionx-press.biz).

A member of the West Virginia University School of Medicine faculty, and formerly a psychologist for the cardiology and cardiac rehab departments, Herridge says his training in psychology plays into his work with eBay.” When people came in and had a valuable item, I needed to do a little bit of handholding,” he explains.

Herridge first dabbled in eBay in 1998, after following the company’s progress in the stock market. His first venture was a used ticket stub from a Sammy Hagar concert that sold for $28. eBay was a hobby for Herridge until about a year and a half ago, when he heard about eBay drop-off stores in California. In July 2004 he opened Auction X-press, which has since been sold to a new owner. Clientele includes walk-ins, businesses and a growing number of people donating items for sale.

Most clients fall into one of two categories: people who do not have the inclination or skills for computer work, and people who know eBay and have sold items but do not want to do the work required to list them successfully. One advantage of enlisting the help of a drop-off store is that the staff is attuned to the ins and outs of eBay—when the best times are to sell, what goes into a successful listing, what the hot search keywords are.

An eBay auction typically runs three to 10 days and there is never a lack of items to list on eBay. Typically the store lists and sells 50-60 items per week.

eBay is a business well-suited for any kind of economy, according to Herridge. In good times, people are buying; when the economy dips, people want to sell. Selling on eBay is “a great idea that really works as long as you can control your costs,” Herridge adds. “I think eBay is going to continue to dominate this marketplace.”