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For someone who didn’t even know how to turn on a computer several years ago, eBay PowerSeller Steve Fliegman has come a long way. First, his son got him to buy a computer. Then in 2003, his son introduced him to eBay. A year later, Fliegman started an eBay Store called Internet Auctions Company, which is a Sanford and Son-type general store. “Anything I could sell, I did,” says Fliegman, 50, who got his initial inventory from his Las Vegas home and storage shed. “But I concentrated on the items that sold really well.”

Though opening his Store was extremely simple, Fliegman encountered an initial learning curve with sales. “You have to get the equation right,” he says. “In the beginning, I was doing a lot of sales, but the profit margin wasn’t there. It takes some experience to figure out the right products [to sell].” His eBay buying experience gave him a buyer’s perspective, something Fliegman says is key to being a good seller.

Now focusing on sunglasses and goggles, Fliegman also sells buyout inventory from businesses and items from estate sales. He started a second eBay Store in 2005 just for books. Projecting combined 2006 sales of $80,000 and toying with the ideas of a physical location and a third eBay Store for eyewear, Fliegman’s future looks so bright, he might need a pair of his own shades.

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