“The check's in the mail.” Yeah, right.
Cortese listened skeptically to his dinner companion's description of how he was using eBay to sell his WWII collectibles. “I put my collectibles up on the site, and people will just send me a check. The checks arrive in the mail. You wouldn't believe it.”

“Well, I don't,” responded Cortese, and politely declined the Amtrak director's encouragement to try selling on eBay. “Besides, I already love the way I do business.”

Ironic words from someone who is one of eBay's top PowerSellers today. Eight years later, Cortese runs a profitable business in coins, stamps, and paper money on eBay, and is actively involved in sharing his expertise with other eBay sellers.

In many ways, Joe Cortese's (eBay member noblespirit) story reflects the spirit and philosophy of eBay, and illustrates how it has empowered so many people to succeed in new and creative ways.

Scaling the heights on eBay
About a year after the fateful dinner on the train, Cortese had realized the magnitude of opportunity that eBay offered. “When I finally did discover eBay, I sort of kicked myself for missing out a year of what was probably some very interesting and exciting ways to sell,” he ruefully admits.

Choosing the User ID noblespirit (after a 40-foot wooden boat that he had named Noble Spirit in honor of his father), Cortese launched into his career on eBay. Like many others who were making the transition from traditional brick and mortar businesses to eBay, Cortese needed to find new business strategies that would become successful online.As he quickly adapted his traditional, offline business to eBay's online model, Cortese also realized something else – that he was beginning to develop a new love for selling on the site and the connections it helped him make with others on the Internet.

It was eBay's potential for reaching out directly to his customers that tipped the scales for Cortese. “Overnight, it turned our business from wholesalers to retailers, as it has done for many people. It put my products directly in front of the end-user. It helped me cut out the middleman and shift the profit margins in my favor.” As his eBay business grew, Cortese also began experiencing one of the unique characteristics of the new model that eBay was pioneering – the excitement of dealing with faceless strangers on a personal level. “It was a whole new perspective, and a whole new way of doing business.”

Rapid growth brought its own challenges. The experience of getting hundreds of emails every day made Cortese rethink his definition of customer service. A key milestone for Cortese was adding customer support representatives to his business. He also developed innovative marketing strategies to increase the visibility and credibility of his listings. First and foremost, he actively used eBay's Bold and Highlight features to gain wider exposure for his wholesale-priced coin lots, sold in sets and singles.

He also realized the power of setting no reserves on his auction-style listings, starting them at $0.01 and aggressively marketing them in all of his listings. “No reserve is the essence of our selling strategy on eBay,” explains Cortese. “The more we can encourage people to sell at no reserve on eBay, the more excitement there will be.”

While the no-reserve policy has had phenomenal success in his business, Cortese emphasizes his belief that it will be effective only when there is sufficient traffic to the listings. "More listings equals more traffic. You must have sufficient traffic to attempt no reserve." One way Cortese drives more traffic to his listings is by using eBay's List in Two Categories feature.

Home-grown software solutions
After identifying a successful business strategy on eBay, Cortese realized that the next step was to create automated systems and processes that would help scale the business to meet demand. In those early days of eBay, there were few “off-the-shelf” automation software solutions available, so Cortese formed his own development team to build customized solutions for his business.

One of the results of this effort was Meridian, a customized software solution designed to create, schedule and track listings. According to Cortese, it also automatically calculates shipping, sends invoices, processes payments and manages shipping. It also helps him keep track of customer profiles, payments, and financials.

Looking at how effectively his home-grown software solutions had allowed his business to scale quickly, Cortese sensed another business opportunity. He realized that the automation solutions he had developed for his coins and stamps business could also help sellers in other categories scale their operations quickly. Cortese decided to market his software solutions to other eBay sellers.

Sharing the knowledge
Cortese was also driven to spread eBay's philosophy of a level playing field. “We really embraced this philosophy right from the beginning. We didn't want to keep the secret to ourselves. We saw eBay as this wholesome, positive place that was changing people's lives, empowering them in new and creative ways. And while it sounds cliché to say that ‘you must give something back', we really believed there was something to that.”

When eBay Groups launched in 2003, Cortese quickly realized the feature's educational potential in reaching out to other sellers on eBay. He formed several groups with the goal of creating pools of shared knowledge and expertise to which other sellers could contribute, or draw on. “We wanted to use Groups to put forward our philosophy of creating a better eBay environment,” he says. These groups now help both new and advanced sellers hone their skills for growing their eBay businesses.

Some of the eBay Groups that Cortese manages include:

• The Auction Doctors – This is a group where seasoned eBay sellers personally review listings created by new sellers, and offer detailed advice on specific improvements. Advice can range from how to take better pictures to using appropriate search keywords in the listing. Cortese says that new sellers are gratified to see a dramatic improvement in their listings (and results) after adopting a few basic tips from veterans.
• Grow Your PowerSeller Business – With a membership of over 3000, this group aims to help PowerSellers share their hard-earned knowledge about building up eBay businesses with each other.
• The Ultimate Suggestion Box – This is a forum for members to send in their opinions and suggestions about a variety of important eBay-related topics, from policies to improving eBay features. Members can start or join discussions, and create or vote in polls. The idea is for every member to feel that they can make a difference.

Within these groups, Cortese feels that different types of sellers can come to understand how to better grow and operate their businesses on eBay, and, in the process, make eBay itself a more professional and trustworthy place that holds to its core values. “Then it's a better experience for everybody concerned,” he says.

Another accomplishment that Cortese is proud of is starting a trade association whose members include some of eBay's largest sellers. The Professional eBay Sellers Alliance, or PeSA as it has come to be known, was formed in 2003, and currently has over 700 members. Several eBay staff attended a recent PeSA summit in Atlanta (“They listened carefully and took a lot of notes,” recounted Cortese). A few PeSA members are also participants in eBay's Voices of the Community program.

noblespirit looks forward
Cortese says that his coins and stamps business on eBay is the machine that generates the revenue that helps him develop other business interests like Meridian and Community interests like his mentoring groups. He believes that in the future, the most promising aspect of his business on eBay is in marketing Meridian to other sellers in the consignment business. “One of the best things about eBay is the how people can put their knowledge to use. The best way to make money on eBay is to do the things that you know.”

Much has happened in Cortese's life since that long-ago fortuitous introduction to eBay. From transforming his wholesale business to venturing into the world of enterprise software, to being the moving spirit behind many educational Groups and PeSA, his train has come a long way.