Springfield-based We-Bay brings sellers to cyberspace

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by Michele Skalicky|ret||ret||tab|

SBJ Contributing Writer|ret||ret||tab|

sbj@sbj.net|ret||ret||tab|

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Arley Clark is a master of matching miscellaneous merchandise with buyers.|ret||ret||tab|

Since opening business a little more than six months ago, Clark's company We-bay Inc., an Internet auction service at 1927 S. Glenstone has completed more than 1,500 auctions on eBay.|ret||ret||tab|

We-bay became an eBay PowerSeller in the first 90 days of business. To achieve that designation, an eBay member must be an active seller on the Web site for a minimum of 90 days, maintain a minimum of four average monthly listings for the past three months, maintain a 98 percent positive feedback rating, keep the eBay account current, comply with eBay listing policies, uphold the eBay community values including honesty, timeliness and mutual respect, and maintain a minimum of $1,000 of average gross monthly sales for three months.|ret||ret||tab|

Clark and his two part-time employees set up online auctions including digital photography and item descriptions. They also handle search terms, headings, category assignment and payment processing. All it takes is a personal computer and a digital camera, Clark said. The company also takes care of shipping and handling.|ret||ret||tab|

Clark opened the Sunshine Pack & Ship Store (a Florida-based franchise) at the same time he began offering We-bay. "I did that because, in order to provide a full service Internet auction service, I need the Pack & Ship capability," he said.|ret||ret||tab|

We-bay takes items on consignment. The client pays a $5 set-up fee as well as all eBay and PayPal fees, and Clark receives a 15 percent commission if the item sells. |ret||ret||tab|

The Pack & Ship Store allows We-bay employees to ship an item promptly once the auction is closed, Clark said. "We've got a great shopping program that allows us to select the most economical shipping method based upon the size and weight and the destination." The buyer pays the shipping and handling costs.|ret||ret||tab|

Sunshine Pack & Ship, an authorized FedEx and UPS shipper and an Airborne Express drop-off location, also serves anyone who has something to mail. The store also offers shipping through the U.S. Postal Service.|ret||ret||tab|

Clark, who had worked for Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World for 21 years, found himself without a job three years ago. An eBay shopper himself, he wondered if an Internet auction service would be viable. |ret||ret||tab|

"I was displaced, so I had to figure out what to do with my life," he said. "I didn't want to relocate, which probably would have been required for me to stay in the (customer service) field I was in. I was 56 years old and didn't want to pack up and ship to another part of the country and start over, so I looked for something to do here."|ret||ret||tab|

According to Clark, that was his chance to test the water and see if his idea would work.|ret||ret||tab|

So far, interest in We-bay has been steady. He plans to eventually add another employee so he can focus more on recruiting clients and managing the business.|ret||ret||tab|

Clark knows there's a need for what he offers.|ret||ret||tab|

"We target the basic homeowner," he said, "because everyone ends up with a certain amount of possessions that accumulate over time, and a lot of people don't want to bother with the hassle of a garage sale." Returns also tend to be much better on Internet auctions than at garage sales, he said. |ret||ret||tab|

Marguerite Stiegemeyer was pleasantly surprised when a painting she'd bought for $35 at an auction sold on eBay for $400. Clark, who researches and helps price items people want to sell, discovered the painting was a Jesse Barnes original done before he became known as the "Light Painter."|ret||ret||tab|

Stiegemeyer decided it was time to get rid of items she and her husband owned that her grown children didn't want "to make things easier for them when they sell our estate after we're gone," she said. She took her possessions to We-bay.|ret||ret||tab|

"We were pleasantly surprised," she said. "Things we didn't know were of value were, and other things we thought might be worth something weren't."|ret||ret||tab|

Clark said people need to take items to We-bay with an open mind. "Some people have it ingrained in their mind that they paid $50 for something 20 years ago, so it should be worth more, and that's not necessarily true," he said. "The market will set the price."|ret||ret||tab|

That doesn't mean a client should settle for less than what they're comfortable with, he said. Clark advises people to set the minimum price at what they're willing to sell the item for. "If you get more than that, it's gravy," he said.|ret||ret||tab|

Clark's job is to make the item as appealing as possible and to make sure the buyers know what they're getting. He does that through descriptions and photographs. We-bay uses Auction Wizard software for the photos the company posts on eBay. He takes care to photograph different angles of an item so people will know what they are buying.|ret||ret||tab|

"People want to see everything," Clark said. "If there's a chip on a bowl that we're selling, they want to see the chip."|ret||ret||tab|

We-bay will sell just about anything including furniture (Clark recently sold a desk for $2,000), jewelry, watches, real estate, toys, concert and sporting event tickets, household items, movie and television items, pottery and glassware, china and crystal, musical instruments, art and books.|ret||ret||tab|

Probably the most unusual item he's been asked to sell is a Swedish wedding horn circa early 1800s. It's so unusual that Clark hasn't had much luck finding information about it. He has yet to post it on eBay.|ret||ret||tab|

The ox horn sits on an ornate holder accented with brass. The lid of the horn sports a brass dragon as does the stem of the holder. The horn was supposedly filled with ale and used at weddings where the bride and groom drank from it.|ret||ret||tab|

Coming in a close second for the title of most unusual is a vase from Thailand that's between 5,000 and 7,000 years old. A man who was in the military was given the vase while stationed in Thailand. It hasn't sold yet, but Clark plans to keep trying.|ret||ret||tab|

What could end up being the most profitable item We-bay has sold to date is a set of seven framed prints commemorating the 50 years of NCAA Final Four basketball for which Clark will ask $10,000.|ret||ret||tab|

We-bay has sold old oil cans for $96 each and a 1970 Minnesota Vikings Super Bowl pennant for $150. "Those are the kind of windfalls you like to help people find," he said.|ret||ret||tab|

The company has sold professional journals for a retired psychiatrist and is getting ready to sell an antique wicker furniture set made in the 1880s that has been in the same family all these years.|ret||ret||tab|

Clark hasn't sold a motor vehicle yet, although he's received calls about doing so. He plans to eventually get into that area.|ret||ret||tab|

A new category of clients has recently started utilizing Clark's services people who have booths at various flea markets and antique shops. "I've got a couple of them that are now bringing me items, and they're treating me like I'm another booth," he said.|ret||ret||tab|

Most of the items Clark sells stay in the United States, but about 5 percent go out of the country, most often to Japan, Australia and England.|ret||ret||tab|

Many sellers don't offer their auctions worldwide because they don't want to deal with shipping issues such as costs and documentation requirements, Clark said, but We-bay will "ship anywhere it's legal to ship."|ret||ret||tab|

Clark said his company sells about 75 percent to 80 percent of the items it lists on eBay. If an item doesn't sell it will be re-listed for another auction period at no additional cost. If there still are no buyers the client has three options: agree to re-list at a lower price and pay the additional set-up fees, pick up the item or allow We-bay to donate the item to charity on the client's behalf.|ret||ret||tab|

Clark does all he can to ensure items will find a buyer. For example, a woman recently asked We-bay to sell a toy fire truck. When Clark checked the eBay site, he discovered there were already several identical fire trucks listed, so he'll wait until the market is less flooded to list the toy.|ret||ret||tab|

Stiegemeyer is satisfied with the money she's made by having We-bay put her possessions up for auction. "On the whole I've been very happy with what we've gotten," she said. "It's been very worthwhile and interesting."|ret||ret||tab|

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