|
|
|
ONLINE FEATURES
Book Reviews
BW Video
Columnists
Interactive Gallery
Newsletters
Past Covers
Philanthropy
Podcasts
Special Reports
BLOGS
Auto Beat
Bangalore Tigers
Blogspotting
Brand New Day
Byte of the Apple
Economics Unbound
Eye on Asia
Fine On Media
Green Biz
Hot Property
Investing Insights
Management IQ
NEXT: Innovation
NussbaumOnDesign
Tech Beat
Working Parents
TECHNOLOGY
J.D. Power Ratings
Product Reviews
Tech Stats
Wildstrom: Tech Maven
AUTOS
Home Page
Auto Reviews
Classic Cars
Car Care & Safety
Hybrids
INNOVATION
& DESIGN Home Page Architecture Brand Equity Auto Design Game Room SMALLBIZ Smart Answers Success Stories Today's Tip INVESTING Investing: Europe Annual Reports BW 50 S&P Picks & Pans Stock Screeners Free S&P Stock Report SCOREBOARDS Hot Growth 100 Mutual Funds Info Tech 100 S&P 500 B-SCHOOLS Undergrad Programs MBA Blogs MBA Profiles MBA Rankings Who's Hiring Grads |  |
JUNE 7, 2004
Homegrown Legends on eBay CD sellers Marie and Jay Senese have a cult following -- and make a comfortable living -- as the site's highest-volume sellers Call them the Beatles of eBay. They get hounded for autographs at sellers' conventions and are the subjects of bigfoot-like conjecture on message boards. In the five years since they started their eBay (EBAY ) business, 1 Cent CD, Marie and Jay Senese of Pasadena, Calif., have acquired a global mystique among the 430,000 people who make a full or part-time living selling on the auction site. The reason for the cult following: They hold the singular distinction of being the highest-volume sellers on eBay, putting 800 CDs up for bid every day. CAREER SECURITY. The now-legendary business started in 1997 when Marie started thinning the couple's voluminous music collection, which had taken over, in blob-like fashion, every room of their home. Since she had quit her real estate management job to stay home with her son, online selling also enabled her to pocket some extra coin. Then, in 1998, Jay lost his stockbroker job. A year later, the couple went full-time and now earn an income of upwards of $100,000 through eBay. Still, Marie is able to walk her 9-year-old son to school every morning and pick him up when he's done. "As a mother, eBay has enabled me to spend the important years of my son's childhood at home with him," says Marie. It also gives her some added peace of mind as far as his career security: If things ever get dicey, he already knows how to peddle Game Boys online.  By Michelle Conlin in New York
BW MALL
SPONSORED LINKS
Get BusinessWeek directly on your desktop with our RSS feeds.
Buy a link now! Add BusinessWeek news to your Web site with our headline feed. Click to buy an e-print or reprint of a BusinessWeek or BusinessWeek Online story or video. To subscribe online to BusinessWeek magazine, please click here. Learn more, go to the BusinessWeekOnline home page  | | |
 Copyright 2004, by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.Terms of Use | Privacy Notice |
Printer-Friendly Version
