Don’t tell Spokane firm this is an eBay world

Default Browser: Tom Sowa says ePier.com has done
what many online businesses couldn’t – make a profit.

You’d think there was just one online auction site, judging
by the publicity eBay has received the past few weeks.

Tom Sowa
The Spokesman-Review

Newsweek magazine’s recent cover heralded "the United
States of eBay." News stories here and elsewhere act like
no other auction site is newsworthy.

Well, right under our noses is the growing success story
of Spokane’s auction alternative, ePier.com.

Started four years ago by James Kim, ePier has reached a
plateau thousands of dot-coms have missed — making a
profit.

After losing about $6,000 a month two years ago, ePier is
now clearing about $3,000 per month.

The breakthrough came about four months ago, said Kim,
company CEO.

By the end of the year, ePier could be clearing $30,000 a
month, he said.

That’s nowhere near the revenue publicly traded eBay
makes. But Kim has reason to be proud.

There were, a while back, about 500 Web sites devoted to
online auction selling. A very few are profitable. Outside
eBay, ePier is one of a few large "full-spectrum" auction
sites making money, said Kim.

Full-spectrum means a site selling nearly anything, from
old baseball cards to Beanie Babies or used car parts. EPier
has about 2,000 categories; the busiest, just like at eBay,
are those that cater to collectors and memorabilia hounds.

Tons of smaller sites serve niche markets like sports
memorabilia or used computers.

EPier’s office, not far from Spokane Community College,
houses Kim’s e-commerce team and ePier’s equipment.

"Team" in this case means Kim, who works 60 hours a
week, two full-time programmers and two part-timers.

His company’s growth — from 15,000 users a few years
ago to 37,000 now — comes from Kim’s no-listing-fees
policy.

Sellers on eBay pay a fee to eBay whether the item sells or
not. At ePier, a small commission goes to the company
when an item is sold.

Over 300 users have created "storefronts" on ePier that
help them sell multiple items. It costs them $9.95 a month
for the service.

Epier’s gains come as many online auction hounds have
soured on eBay and its policies. Auctioneers complain that
eBay has turned into a shopping mall for big retailers
shedding merchandise they can’t sell elsewhere.

Kim is convinced the battle to build ePier will be even more
successful. This year’s profits will be invested in radio ads
targeted at "kernel markets" in cities with lots of online
auction-site fans.

But back at home in Spokane, few people even know ePier
exists. "That’s what the new technology allows," Kim said.
"It allows for global reach. We’re definitely taking
advantage of that option."

http://www.spokesmanreview.com/news-story.asp?date=062302&ID=s1171711&cat=section.business