Q: How has selling on eBay contributed to your success?
A: Frankly, there is no other resource that has been a bigger contributor to my business’ success than eBay. Without eBay we would never be able to get even a fraction of the exposure that we achieve with our listings. Most of our hottest models enjoy over one hundred thousand views in just the first couple months… and this is for one style, one listing! For example, our Jordan Win Like 96 model currently has 298,617 views (since December of last year). I don’t share this to brag, I am illustrating the fact that this volume of views has led to a volume of sales that would never be even remotely possible without the exposure eBay provides us!
Q: Can you share a fun fact about yourself/your business?
A: One day when checking my feedback profile, I noticed that I created my account on 2.3.2003. Air Jordan sneakers make up 98%+ of everything I’ve sold on eBay. I thought it was a very intriguing coincidence that Michael Jordan’s number is 23 and my account was created on that date.
Q: What is your proudest business moment on eBay?
A: My proudest moment on eBay would have to be December of 2013. Just 6 months prior in June of that year I decided to walk away from an outstanding position at the University of Texas Athletics Department. After working my way up from intern to head accountant for the UT Football team I decided to quit in order to pursue my dream of selling on eBay and running my own business full time.
Fast forward 6 months… that holiday season of 2013 I sold over 1,000 pairs of Air Jordans on eBay. Within just those first six months of becoming a full time eBay seller I’d already made more money than I had in the last 3 years combined at the job I’d left at UT!
Q: Why do you believe customers enjoy buying from you?
A: Customers buy from us because we treat them with a level of love, respect, and service that you don’t find much in today’s world. We often will include random surprise “bonuses” inside customers’ orders such as Nike tote bags, gel inserts, Michael Jordan memorabilia, and Nike/Jordan socks. We only offer standard 5-day shipping on all our listings, yet we always ship 2-day priority.
We want to make certain that our customers are happy every single time they shop with us; our business thrives on our reputation of excellence in the sneaker community. We firmly believe the key to success isn’t what you do, it’s how you do it. We aren’t focused on making the most we can from any one sale. We want our customers to be raving fans for life by creating more value and treating them with more love, honesty, and respect than anyone else.
Q: How has selling on eBay impacted your life?
A: Selling on eBay has completely transformed my life. I’m able to be my own boss, set my own schedule, and have the level of freedom with my time and my finances that I would never been able to have achieved with my previous job.
Since selling on eBay full time, I’m able to spend more time with my family and do more of the things that I love like cooking, golf, traveling, reading, and giving back to others. Currently, I’m shopping for the purchase of my first home. Owning real estate is a dream I’ve always had and being able to do this as a young entrepreneur certainly is a dream come true. I truly mean it when I say that I love my life, and the level of life I have the privilege of living would never have been possible without the opportunity selling on eBay has provided me.
Q: Where do you see yourself and your business in 5 years?
A: My goal since day one was to create as much success as possible by becoming the number one seller of limited edition sneakers on eBay. But my plan didn’t stop at creating success and a better life for myself. My real goal was to grow my business as much as I could so that I could ultimately put myself in a position where I was able to contribute and give back to people who deserve a better life. This is why I created the name “Sneaker Jesus”. My ultimate goal has always been to use my success to do what I really want, my real calling in life, which is to make life better for those around me.
But I also have a second goal: to give back to my community. With the help of our friends at the Miracle Foundation and the privilege I have of being plugged into the non-profit community, in 2019 we are launching a brand, new program. We will begin by setting aside 30 pairs of Air Jordans every month of the school year to give to students in lower income school districts, starting here in Austin. Our program is called “A’s for J’s”. Each month we will select one new high school, and any student from that school who uploads a copy of their report card showing straight A’s in all subjects will be entered into a raffle. The first 30 names drawn from the raffle will have their pick at an Air Jordan of their choice.
