Finding the Perfect Product
This lucky entrepreneur found eBay success with a product he knew would always be in demand.
By Nichole L. Torres •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Vital Stats: Cain Bond, 19, of ACB Trader Co. 007
Company: Stroller, bicycle and bicycle accessoriesretailer in Washington, Indiana
2006 Projected Sales: $1 million plus
20/20 Vision: If you're aiming for the stratosphereof success on eBay, you need a clear vision and, of course, aproduct customers can't live without. Cain Bond (eBay User ID:ACBtradercompany007) certainly has that vision. Bond began sellingstrollers on eBay in January 2004 and went full time in June, rightafter graduating from high school. He sold an astronomical $30,000worth of products in July 2004 alone. Bond had no background instrollers, but he didn't let that stop him. Says Bond,"The one thing I did know is babies are born every day, sopeople need strollers."
Father Knows Best: To help him get started, Bond'sdad, an eBay seller himself, gave Bond $400 to buy inventory fromhis trusted supplier. After quickly launching his business into theupper echelons of the eBay universe, Bond expanded by buying hisfather's eBay operation in January 2005, allowing him to addbicycles, tricycles, wagons and "anything as far as a bicycleis concerned" to his offerings.
The Next Level: In May 2005, Bond used his substantialrevenue to move from home to an office space and to open a bicycleretail store. To date, he has brought five employees into his eBayempire--and amazingly, he's done it all without traditionalbank financing. Not one to rest on his laurels, Bond is looking togrow even bigger. Using eBay seller tools like Turbo Lister andSelling Manager Pro has already helped him up his sales quotient,and he has plans to build a website. He also wants to increase hisinternational sales and eventually add new product offerings.
First Things First: To aspiring eBay Sellers, Bondadvises, "Just have all your stuff together. That doesn'tnecessarily mean money, but whatever item you're going tosell--have it all inventoried, and when you list an item, make sureyou list everything right the first time, so you don't [get]500 e-mails."
