I’m an eBay millionaire
WHEN Jamie Murray sold his old PlayStation 2 on eBay, he never dreamt it was the start of a multi-million pound business.
But three years on, the dad-of-four is at the helm of computer, mobile and camera accessory company BMC Digital - one of eBay’s biggest success stories.
With a turnover in excess of £3.5m, it’s an amazing achievement for the South Wales man, who left school at 16 to work as a porter for just £60 a week.
Jamie, 29, says: “No-one has been more staggered by my success than I have.
“If you’d told me 10 years ago that I’d be running an internet-based business, I wouldn’t have believed you.
“Actually, back then I had no interest in IT, could barely turn on a computer and wouldn’t even have heard of the internet.
“Now BMC has expanded from a back bedroom in my house to a building with four offices, a warehouse and eight employees.
“Our story really proves the power of the internet.”
It was summer 2005 when Jamie decided his old PS2 had lain idle for long enough, and he put it up for sale on the popular auction site, eBay.
Jamie says: “Having left school with just GCSEs, I’d started work as a porter for an engineering company, and was keen to move into something more lucrative.
“I’d heard a bit about eBay and the massive market you could tap into.
“When I put the PS2 online, I watched closely to see how the bidding process worked.
“I noticed most items were poorly advertised and didn’t inspire buyer confidence.
“By tweaking my ad I managed to get £100 for my machine, which was definitely a good price.”
As Christmas approached, Jamie realised selling the popular PS2 on eBay could be a potential goldmine.
And he began buying as many second-hand consoles as possible.
Jamie says: “I answered classified ads in the local paper and targeted shoddily listed PS2s on eBay.
“By the end of November I had collected 30 or so at knockdown prices.
“Instead of selling them as one unit, I divided up controllers, memory cards and consoles.
“As the items were priced separately, I could charge a lot more than if they were sold together.
“All 30 units sold, earning me £50 profit each time, which was a total of £1,500.”
Now Jamie was convinced of the internet’s potential, but needed the ideal product for web sales.
Large and bulky games consoles cost too much to deliver, however, the memory cards that came with them were compact and easily packaged.
Jamie says: “Cards which could hold images, songs and video were relatively new to the UK market, and very much in demand.
“They didn’t take up much space, would sell well throughout the year and were just starting to be incorporated into some Nokia phones.”
After contacting a memory card wholesaler, Jamie’s new eBay account – Bluejamgem – was ready to launch.
He says: “It all began in the spare bedroom at the back of my house.
“The orders poured in, and after three months virtually the whole house was taken over by memory card boxes so we could meet the demand.
“Now we sell 1,500 products, which are mostly computer, camera and mobile accessories.
“Much to the relief of my wife, Gemma, 25, we have a warehouse to store them in now.”
When he’s not running the business, Jamie is the doting dad of Megan, 6, Calum, 5, and 18-month old Sadie.
And with BMC Digital currently valued well over £1m, the car fanatic can at last afford to splash out on his passion.
Jamie says: “I recently treated myself to a £30,000 BMW X5.
“It was always a dream of mine to drive a nice car.
“But before you ask - I didn’t buy it on eBay.”
JAMIE’S TOP EBAY TIPS
* Treat your customers like human beings, not like an order.
* If something goes wrong with an item you’ve delivered, make a loss and provide the customer with a replacement.
* Only trade in small items which can be easily despatched.
* Listings must be attractively laid out and include all relevant keywords.
* Make sure your eBay account inspires confidence in potential customers. They need to be sure you’re a reputable dealer who won’t let them down.