Cori founded her business in 2003 as a single mother packing orders while her children played in her living room. She began selling clothing that her children had outgrown, but often had difficulty finding the proper packaging to ship the clothes in. This led Cori and her family to create their own product line of custom designed colorfully printed poly mailers.
Initially selling on her own out of her house, she’s since grown and expanded the operation, which now sells shipping supplies and has two physical locations, in California and South Carolina. Cori and her husband Beau participate in eBay for Charity, helping support addiction recover centers and organizations that assist disabled veterans.
Q: How has selling on eBay contributed to your success?
A: I learned through working with eBay that if I put myself out there by making my ideas known, even to those who may seem so much bigger than me, people are very receptive and want to help work toward mutual success. Often times, “regular people” don’t realize how much influence they can have on politicians, executives and major corporations such as eBay. I have learned to never be afraid to ask for and pursue what I want in life.
Q: Where does the inspiration for your business come from?
A: The inspiration for my business 100 percent comes from every mom just like me who either has children to raise alone, disabled adult children that need constant care, or simply needing the added income to supplement their families’ livelihood. These are my people. I am for them. I want to make everything they ship a little more special.
Q: Can you share a fun fact about yourself/your business?
A: I was the first to bring the colored poly mailer to market, starting with pink and blue. About a year later, I invented the “designer” decorative poly mailer which has entirely transformed the shipping supply industry making a custom looking shipment the main stay for the average eBay seller.
Q: How has selling on eBay impacted your life?
A: I grew up believing that if I did not go to college I would never make anything of myself. I am such an entirely out of the box thinker that I struggled doing things somebody else’s way and thus dropped out of college. I found eBay and that challenged me to persevere on my own and live a life that reaches far beyond anything I ever dreamed of, and I have always been a dreamer.
Q: How has eBay allowed you to give back to the charity, community, or cause you are passionate about?
A: eBay gives us the ability to say I support this charity and why. It is like holding a sign and saying I am for Addiction Recovery. I could easily support my cause privately but instead eBay gives me the ability to say, who’s with me? The answer comes as one person after another messages or comments in gratitude for my support of the very thing that has utterly changed their life. And together we are stronger. And the most amazing part? eBay lets me do it all for free right there on their platform because they support whatever I support by waiving their selling fees!
