Jody Rogers of Beachcombers Bazaar gives credit to Asad Bangash, her significant other, for starting to sell odds and ends on eBay. "He got me started, and we were having a great time with it. Asad is Pakistani. His mother had bought some salwar kameez (Pakistani dresses) but lost 20 pounds, so they were brand new when she gave them to us to sell. We sold those and realized we found a nitch on eBay and could build a business."

Jody and Asad moved from Columbus, Ohio to Orlando, Florida. In Ohio, they were going to garage sales and thrift stores looking for things to sell while working fulltime jobs. When they landed in Florida, they decided to try running an online business together with the help of Asad's brother, Ehsan. "When Asad's mother went to Pakistan, we gave her money and a list of items to buy." Jody's daughter, Jasmine, has also joined the family business, helping to create bangle sets and pack items for shipping. "She's having a great time and totally exceeding my expectations," says the proud mom.

Though Beachcomber's Bazaar remains a family business, presently operated from the mother-in-law cottage behind the family home, Beachcombers has taken sourcing to the next level. They now work directly with a khussa (shoe) manufacturer designing custom styles. They also import bangles and henna from India. Jody points out that it wasn't easy to ramp up their business, but is very excited by the results. "We've grown substantially," Jody says, "and we look forward to growing more. 2005 is a turning point year for us."

Keys to Success
Beachcomber's Bazaar is clearly popular. Their total feedback is 50% higher than their unique feedback, indicating a large number of repeat customers and multiple-item purchasers. Making excellent use of the eBay Stores platform has certainly contributed to this success. In fact, Beachcomber's Bazaar was nominated for the 2005 Best In Stores contest. Besides looking great, Jody and Asad use their Store strategically. Here are several things they are doing right:

• Subscribing at the Featured level gives them increased visibility on eBay.
• Highlighting monthly specials and latest news on Stores pages promotes sales and encourages repeat visits.
• Extra Stores pages help market product and add fun at the same time. The ongoing Henna Design of the Moment contest is a great example of enhancing customer interaction while encourages a purchase.
• Listing pages are designed to bring customers into the eBay Store.
• Custom categories help shoppers find exactly what they are looking for, and anything that doesn't fit in with the ethnic jewelry, clothing, and beauty products is sold under a separate user ID (beachcombers!beachhut ).
• The look and feel of the Store, as well as the prominence of the name and logo, all give Beachcomber's Bazaar a strong brand identity-an excellent way to build customer loyalty.

Besides customizing their eBay Store, a robust About Me page helps Beachcomber's Bazaar communicate with customers. It includes sizing charts, new product announcements, and glowing testimonials. The standard listing template also gives sizing information as well as shipping and returns policies, payment methods, and so on. Jody and Asad have clearly taken a lot of care in making their Store and product listings alluring to their customers.

"Customer service is very high on our list," Jody affirms, and not just in terms of the look at feel of their eBay pages. "We return emails very quickly, typically within two hours during the day. We offer great quality and designs, and we also offer a full refund on returns including shipping. It doesn't matter why a customer is unhappy, we will take care of them.  We stand behind our products 100% and our return policy adds credibility to our products and our brand."

Best Practices
Jody is active on the community boards at eBay. "I used to go to help menu or email customer support, but not since I found the Stores community board . There are the most knowledgeable people on that board--they know everything!"

Going to eBay Live! in 2004 also helped Jody and Asad decide on Marketworks, a third-party solution provider for their eBay management tool. "We talked to many people and decided that Marketworks was the best value for us. We've been very happy with them."

Having found a technique that works well, Jody still tries other eBay tools and features on occasion to be sure that sales are as good as they can get. That's how they went from eBay's Turbo Lister to the more comprehensive Marketworks. Nowadays, Beachcomber's Bazaar uses a combination of auction-style listings, Buy It Now items and Store Inventory items sold at a Fixed Price.

"We always, always, always use Gallery," Jody insists. The thumbnail images of products not only attract potential buyers, but also add to the look of the Store when seen there. Jody credits Ehsan's tutelage for the great photos.

"Occasionally we'll use Subtitles," she adds. "We take advantage of sales, like the recent 1-cent Subtitle sale. We also do Featured Plus! now and then. We've been buying eBay Keywords , too."

One of the most inventive tools Jody and Asad have at Beachcomber's Bazaar is the user Forum. Customers can link to the discussion forum from About Me, the FAQ page, and elsewhere. Once in the forum, they can available products and make requests. Participating in these discussions lets Jody and Asad know what people are interested in buying and what they should start carrying.