Net's biggest winners build a web of skills

THE WASHINGTON POST

Susan Gearing's home office in Columbia, Md., looks like a fun factory -- embroidery machines hum, and shelves are lined with 350 rolls of fabric, including some emblazoned with Elvis, Betty Boop and shirtless cowboys.

But behind the colorful facade lies a grueling, complex Internet retail operation. Every day, Gearing cuts, folds and mails 30 yards of fabric to customers around the world who buy from her online. And each year, her business, SusieCraft, grows bigger and more demanding.

As Internet shopping matures and enters its 12th holiday season, veteran eBay sellers are discovering what it takes to make a long-term career out of selling online.

"You have to have a big range of skills that have to come together," Gearing said.

Gearing, 60, is among the 1.3 million sellers who make all or some of their living on eBay, the global bazaar where $12.6 billion in merchandise changed hands in the most recent quarter. She has recruited her husband to help, but says it's a fantasy that self-employment is stress-free.

Gearing, who learned to sew at age 12, spends much of her time doing the usual spadework of any retailer, scouting quilt shows and magazines to stay on top of trends.

She answers more than 100 customer e-mails a day and writes ad copy for 500 simultaneous listings.

With help from special software and her husband, Bill Gearing, she also tracks packaging and postage for 50 daily outgoing shipments, all while striving to master the latest tricks of Internet marketing.

"We're talking about a blog, and we're looking at [selling] on Amazon," she said. "And gosh, should we be on YouTube?"

At the same time, Gearing faces a learning curve in deciding whether and how to market her fabric through Google and other search engines. If she decides to buy ads tied to search phrases, which words will customers most likely use when hunting for threads?

After eight years of selling on eBay, Gearing still operates out of her home, with no outside staff.

She said her business rings up $15,000 in monthly sales during the busy winter period, generating enough income to match her previous salary as a museum director and augment her husband's retirement income.

Like many eBay sellers who don't want to grow too big, Gearing has resisted hiring the people necessary to take sales to the next level.

She has, however, repeatedly revamped her business.

Before starting on eBay, she researched completed auctions for three months, mining the data for things people tended to look for.

Not just "potholders," for example, but "frog potholders."

She started sewing potholders at a cost of about $1 each and auctioning them for prices ranging from $7 to $15.

After discovering that pillows sold for more, she switched to auctioning pillows and increased her monthly sales to $2,500 to $3,000. Next, she noticed that fabric could be sold in large volume at high margins -- roughly double its wholesale price -- so she ventured into that area. She bought a machine that embroiders cloth, which helped her fetch even more at auction.

"You have to have the heart of an entrepreneur," Gearing said.