SAN JOSE, Calif., July 31, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, eBay
announced the winners of its annual seller recognition program,
the SHINE Awards for Small Business. The award program
highlights the efforts and success of small businesses across the
country and recognizes the entrepreneurs who have used eBay to help
build successful businesses.
"We were thrilled to receive thousands of submissions from
sellers across the U.S. for the SHINE Awards for Small Business,"
said Hal Lawton, Senior Vice
President of eBay North America.
"Our sellers are what makes eBay the vibrant marketplace it is
today. This year's winners truly exemplify what it means to grow a
best-in-class business on eBay and we couldn't be prouder to honor
them with these awards."
The SHINE Awards Grand Prize Winner and eBay's 2017 Small
Business of the Year is Angie Cardona-Nelson. Her business, eWaste
Direct, is an eco-friendly business that diverts electronic waste
from landfills by recycling and refurbishing used electronics. Over
the course of nine years, eWaste Direct has diverted over 7 million
pounds of e-waste from landfills and has gone from a revenue ratio
of 80% recycling to over 80% resale.
Winners from each of the five categories were also recognized
onstage:
- Rising Star: Katy
Zilverberg, A Boutique for Him. Katy left
her traditional 9-to-5 job to pursue a career in small business
consulting. It wasn't long before she realized selling on eBay was
her true calling – and she went all in, growing her sales at a
staggering rate. Today, A Boutique for Him is a full-time eBay
boutique specializing in a men's clothing.
- Global Business: Denise
Martell, Al's Snowmobile Parts Warehouse.
As a seasonal business based in rural Vermont, Denise made the decision to expand
her father's snowmobile business and source additional cashflow in
the off season by selling on eBay – and never looked back. Today
Denise exports between 30-40% of her products to countries all over
the world.
- Minority or Woman-Owned Business: Melissa Crook, Sticky Fingers
Vinyl. A single mother with four children, Melissa knew
she needed a way to support herself and her family finding a niche
in the online craft market. She now has a thriving business selling
vinyl product to crafting professionals and expanded to a 11,000+
sq. ft. warehouse with six employees.
- Charitable Business: Nancy
Meyer, Community Forklift. Nancy founded
Community Forklift to "lift up the community" by recycling and
reselling unwanted and salvaged building materials throughout the
metro DC region. To raise even more funds, the organization
leverages our eBay for Charity program. Since 2011, Community
Forklift has also provided $250,000
worth of materials to neighbors in need.
- Young Entrepreneur: Ciara
Brown, The Diamond Hanger. With an
entrepreneurial spirit and passion for finding that diamond in the
rough, Ciara created a flourishing clothing business out of her
college dorm room while juggling her time as a full-time college
student and Division I athlete.
The eBay SHINE Awards winners were selected from more than 2,400
submissions that came from across the U.S. Submissions matched
eBay's breadth and depth of businesses and merchandise on the site
with entries from brand new businesses just starting out on eBay to
global, multi-million dollar enterprises and entries from every
category – from fashion to homewares to automotive parts.
The eBay community had a chance to vote on 15 selected finalists
for category winners: three in each of the five categories. Nearly
30,000 votes were cast for the category winners by thousands of
voters. Independent from the community voting, the Grand Prize
Winner and eBay's 2017 Small Business of the Year was selected by a
panel of expert judges including Brent
Bellm, CEO of BigCommerce, Anita
Campbell, Founder of Small Business Trends, John Henry, host of eBay's Open for Business
podcast, Hal Lawton, SVP,
North America, eBay and
Laurie Wong, Owner, Reflections of
Trinity and eBay's 2016 Small Business of the Year.
The SHINE Awards winners receive a suite of prizes and marketing
tools to help take their business to the next level. This includes
a cash prize, $10,000 for the grand
prize winner and $5,000 for each of
the five category winners, a one-year Anchor store subscription,
credits for eBay shipping supplies and promoted listings and
more.
For information on the SHINE Awards for Small Business, photos
of the winners and more, please see
visit ebay.com/shineawards.
About eBay
eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) is a global
commerce leader including the Marketplace, StubHub and Classifieds
platforms. Collectively, we connect millions of buyers and sellers
around the world, empowering people and creating opportunity
through Connected Commerce. Founded in 1995 in San Jose, Calif., eBay is one of the world's
largest and most vibrant marketplaces for discovering great value
and unique selection. In 2016, eBay enabled $84 billion of gross merchandise volume. For more
information about the company and its global portfolio of online
brands, visit www.ebayinc.com.
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SOURCE eBay Inc.