"I started auctioning on eBay as a way to generate a few sales while I was in the process of launching my business and Web site," he says. "The demand and sales volume from eBay was much more than I ever anticipated."

Campbell now has two channels for his pet crates, beds, and exercise pens: his eBay Store and his Web site. "eBay always will be an important means of acquiring new customers and marketing our products," he says.

The entrepreneur credits the success of his eBay pet business to a well-formulated customer care strategy, which has enabled him to properly position his volume business yet also alleviate customer concerns that might reduce sales.

Detailed customer FAQs (frequently asked questions) are fundamental to his approach. The FAQs educate Campbell's customers, reduce his customer support responsibilities, and free him up to take care of other business, such as fulfilling orders. Wisely, he also offers a FAQ for both his sale policies and his products (with size, brand, and model advice).

"People truly regard their pets as members of the family, so they're emotionally invested in buying pet homes," says Campbell. "Their concerns were expressed in a huge volume of email, and we found ourselves answering the same questions over and over again. Now, people can get the assurances they need immediately and we can do other things besides answer emails."

Campbell's FAQs, which he links to from his listings, also cut his costs, enabling him to avoid hiring a customer support staff.

"The phone literally rang 24/7 with people wanting their questions answered immediately. Emails were swelling to 100-plus a day," says Campbell. "It's impossible to survive financially offering Costco prices with Nordstrom service. The FAQs help to set realistic expectations and alleviate frustration on the part of our customers."

The FAQs, in other words, have helped Campbell illustrate to his customers how his business model works, and more importantly, how it benefits them. His return buyers know that he keeps his overhead low so that he can pass savings onto them, and that makes them more loyal.

For Happy Dogs does work one on one with customers under certain circumstances, particularly if there has been a misunderstanding.

"We are genuinely committed to making our customers happy, and have gone to great lengths --occasionally at a financial loss -- to do so," says Campbell. "We know that a positive buying experience at For Happy Dogs translates into word-of-mouth advertising and greater sales."

Mandel has parlayed a passion for sewing and embroidery into a thriving eBay business, which has performed more than 5,000 successful transactions in less than a year. "I can truly say eBay has changed my life," she says. "It has allowed me to stay at home with my three kids, plus make more than a full-time job."

This stay-at-home mom has added successful businesswoman to her resume by developing an effective eBay marketing plan and establishing a brand identity in her specialty category. For one, she understood the importance of crafting a strong name for her business, Radiant Threads, and promoting it via an eBay Store and compelling About Me page.

Equally important, Mandel presents herself as an expert in her niche by offering a wide yet focused selection of embroidery products and supplies, including volume quantities of her own thread, the latest embroidery designs, and embroidery software. She also has rolled out a Radiant Threads customer newsletter, educating repeat buyers about upcoming offerings.

In addition, she has made a point of carrying her category's top brands, such as Brother, Amazing Designs, and Janome, and including these brand names in her Buy It Now listing titles, so that she takes advantage of enthusiast searches for these embroidery names. In short, she enables novices and enthusiasts to pursue their hobby more successfully.

"I am one of the biggest dealers for Amazing Designs, a household name in the embroidery world," explains Mandel.

To compete more effectively on price with other embroidery sellers, Mandel also has moved beyond just being a reseller of other vendors' products. In order to offer volume spools of thread at rock-bottom prices, she has created her own value brand of threads, purchased directly from thread manufacturers.

"It took a little research and trial and error, but I have learned a lot through this process," says Mandel. "I'm now working with a few companies overseas and buying in huge quantities so the price is lower than anyone can get here in the states."

The savings she earns selling generic thread, sold under the Radiant Threads label, not only enables her to reduce her thread prices and increase sales, but also reduce her costs overall and list brand-name design patterns and software for less. And, that gives her the ability to merchandise her items more effectively. Many of her listings quote the item's retail price, which is typically a third more than her Buy It Now.

"There are so many aspects to running an eBay business that it is almost impossible to excel at them all," explains Jennifer. "We chose each other based on our individual strengths."

Too often, eBay sellers go it alone or recruit inappropriate business partners, says Jennifer.

"I think a lot of people choose their spouse to be their eBay partner because they're 'around' or 'simply there.' To me, this is a huge mistake," she stresses. "Couples choose each other because they have similar interests, experiences, and backgrounds. That works in a marriage but not in a business. We are effective partners because we excel at different tasks and don't step on each other's toes."

The two often divide core tasks right down the middle. LeRoy, for example, handles the company's back end, coordinating and systematizing the overall operation along with it's finances, while Jennifer oversees the front end, interacting with customers. LeRoy is the deal closer, haggling with suppliers over price, while Jennifer is the product expert. She sources merchandise from 50 different importers and manufacturers, even traveling overseas routinely to find objects other sellers don't carry.

"We love unique, beautiful things and try to buy with that niche in mind," says Jennifer. "We stay away from brand names in favor of handcrafted collectibles -- but new items, not antiques."

When it comes to strategy, the partners see eye to eye. "We love to sell a wide range of merchandise across as many categories as possible, but we stick with one theme -- beautiful objects for the home," Jennifer explains. "By selling a wide range of products, you're able to include more search terms in your auction titles and ultimately attract more bidders."

Both also are boosters for eBay's Gallery listing upgrade, critical for their highly visual home items. "We use gallery 100 percent of the time," says Jennifer, "Our sell through rate is way above the eBay average and we definitely feel that Gallery has something to do with that."

Pricing, of course, is also critical: "We are definitely a bargain hunter's dream," says Jennifer. "Our prices are just above wholesale. Even with shipping, our customers pay far less than retail."

The two met and discovered their compatible talents while attending eBay University, which Jennifer still heartily recommends.