E-tail therapy: if you're getting sick of the same old business ideas, then it's time to go online. The robust e-commerce market is hotter than ever, and it just may be the cure for what ails you

Entrepreneur, Jan, 2005 by Heather Clancy

Although he could have hired an outside designer--costing anywhere from $5[degrees] to $200 per hour every time the site needed an update--Zoske went with a staff expert because he needed to update the site often with new information, especially for its extensive salt reference guide. That guide, in fact, is used by SaltWorks in marketing activities to entice visitors to the site. Says Zoske, "We hoped that once they felt like they got something for nothing, maybe they would do some shopping."

GOING, GOING, GOING ...

Conversely, Auctions by the Bay Inc. (www.auctionsbythebay.com) is all about selling--antiques, to be precise.

The business was conceived as an offshoot of a popular antiques and collectibles fair in Alameda, California, in part to clear out goods that didn't sell. But co-founder Allen Michaan sought a bigger audience for his two monthly auctions than local crowds could create. So despite witnessing the failed online efforts of several venerable East Coast auction houses, he turned to eBay, where he and his wife, Sandra, 35, had made numerous purchases of their own. Says Allen, 52, "It was an absolutely logical move for us to put all of this on eBay, live."

"All of this" refers to the 22-person company's art deco-style theater in Alameda Point's former Navy facilities, where up to 450 bidders can view images of each item projected onto a movie screen as it is put up for bid. Simultaneously, employees manage bids submitted over the eBay Live Auctions service. Online bidders view the items via an electronic catalog that is uploaded to eBay prior to each event. For this service, Auctions by the Bay is subject to two fees: It must pay $1,500 for each catalog (up to l0,000 lots) that it uploads for an auction, and it is charged a final value fee of 5 percent of the final sales price to successful internet bidders. For 2004, Allen projects sales of about $4 million.

According to Allen, clients choose the showroom or eBay depending on the weather and the size of lots being auctioned. "If we have a large variety of small merchandise, we tend to sell more on the internet," he says.

That's because shipping fees can escalate quickly for delicate, yet sizable, antiques. Early on, Allen's team began warning online bidders to investigate the costs beforehand, after receiving some negative eBay feedback from buyers shocked by the delivery charges. The priciest item sold to an internet bidder was about $12,000, Allen recalls. "When you start getting into tens of thousands of dollars, it's less likely [for delivery to be a problem]. If there is something they want that badly, they'll show up in person," he says.

One drawback to adding the eBay component is that some bidders who show up in person are overwhelmed by rivals who aren't even in the room. Still, don't assume that gives the locals a disadvantage: Allen relates that some successful internet bidders will show up in person within 15 or 20 minutes to pick up items they've won.

DEMOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY

Although it wasn't conceived as part of her original business plan, Gwen Richardson, 46, says customers of her 6-year-old site, Cushcity.com, seek out her local storefront when they're in Houston.