eBay University

Aldwin discovered eBay in 2005 when he was surfing the Web for a katana (type of Japanese sword). Not convinced by the security of other Web sites and the prices they were charging, he decided to buy his sword on eBay. It wasn’t long before he was searching for and buying more items he couldn’t find in the Philippines, and selling items in his country which aren’t easily available in other parts of the world.

He said, “I have always enjoyed being able to give advice to buyers and sellers alike, so I took up the Education Specialist programme out of a desire to help more people online and offline. I'm a very active Community member, posting on three eBay sites, helping other members with their buying and selling concerns. I hope to be able to extend more assistance to people even outside the boards with the knowledge I gained from the Education Specialist programme.”

• View Aldwin’s class schedule

In September 2003, Eireen’s husband, Angelo set up a business on eBay selling collectables and antiques. Within a few short months, the business took off and Eireen came onboard to help cope with the scores of people who were purchasing from them. Nowadays, husband and wife together with a few staff put in 18-20 hours daily doing research, managing worldwide deliveries and maintaining customer relationships.

As a mother of 3, running a business on eBay from home allows Eireen to keep family as her number one priority while still maintaining a career. It can get stressful sometimes, but it is extremely satisfying too. In her words, “Seeing your item go from $8 to $100 or $200 within a few days is thrilling. Even more exhilarating is seeing a lot of our items get sold in this manner. To be frank, it’s highly addictive.”

Eireen and her husband share their passion for eBay by running eBay stores for other businesses and holding regular workshops teaching other people how to do business online.

• View Eireen’s class schedule