EBay Sellers Fell Into Careers That Fill Their Lives

Also at the silver level are Jody Rogers and Asad Bangash, both 31, who sell an unusual product you won't find elsewhere: khussa sandals hand-made in Pakistan by a man who develops the designs by phone with Rogers. She and Bangash -- who go by "beachcombers!" on eBay -- were working for car dealerships before the Internet bug bit them. Now they work side by side, six days a week, in a backyard apartment behind their house in Orlando.

"While my income has gone down, I have never been happier," Rogers said. "I own my own business and I make my own hours."

Rogers believes her business will eventually take off, even though eBay millionaires likely represent a tiny fraction of the 430,000 people earning income selling on the site.

But the prospect of wealth does not appear to be the primary motivator for most. Rather, it's about calling the shots.

"After years in the corporate world with people breathing over your back, this is the perfect job for me," said Emily Sabako of San Marcos, Calif., who quit her post as a chief financial officer to spend more time with her two young children and now sells Mary Frances handbags on eBay. "Where else can you work in jeans and bare feet, have the blues on in the background and be drinking your iced tea?"

After four years, Sabako, 46, has reached the "gold" level, grossing more than $10,000 a month.

Angela Cash of Kennesaw, Ga., is on the ladder's next rung, a platinum seller with monthly sales over $25,000. She finally bought a warehouse last year to support her home-decor business, which employs two full-timers and eight part-timers. "I'm what happens when your eBay business gets out of hand," she said.

EBay won't say how many sellers have hit the platinum or titanium levels. Nor is much data available on how many of the site's 60 million active users are sellers. In 2003, the most recent year eBay conducted a major survey of its users, the company estimated there were nearly 4 million sellers on eBay in the United States. Nearly 120,000 were using the site as their primary or only source of income; another 310,000 used it as a secondary sales channel, the survey concluded.

Ebay dealers are quick to tell you their Internet businesses can be turbulent, even on the upper rungs of the sales ladder.

"Last year was horrendous for me; my business sagged," said Mike Lazar, a Philadelphia area video dealer who had been one of the site's biggest sellers, auctioning nearly 10,000 close-out movies a week. After he lost a key supplier, sales took a hit. Now he lists 1,000 titles a week on eBay and remains profitable by also selling at rivals such as Amazon.com.

"I went full circle," said Lazar, who pared his staff from 21 to seven in recent years. "I started in my house, and then we got into a big warehouse. I had 19,000 square feet at one time. Now we have about 2,100 square feet."

All of which suggests a get-rich-slow dream on eBay. It may be more about taking control of lifestyles than raking in moolah.

Leslie Walker's e-mail address iswalkerl@washpost.com. She produced a photo essay from her recent trip to the eBay user's convention, and will be online today at 1:30 p.m. to discuss her column. Go tohttp://washingtonpost.com/technology.