eBay has revealed the winners for this year’s eBay for Business Awards, an annual event designed to recognise and celebrate the most inspiring sellers among eBay UK’s community of 300,000 small and medium-sized businesses. The announcement follows a nationwide search for the best British businesses trading on the platform, following an exceptionally challenging year for many small businesses and entrepreneurs.
This year’s winners across 11 categories range from kitchen table start-ups and student ‘side hustles’, to established family businesses and those complementing offline stores with online avenues.
In addition, eBay will crown one stand-out small business the ‘Big Feels’ winner, as voted for by eBay UK employees, to recognise the drive and passion of an eBay seller that has overcome significant setbacks. The ‘Big Feels’ winner will benefit from an extra £15,000 cash sum, as well as a unique marketing bundle worth over £100,000, and will be revealed on 9 November.
Each of the category prize winners will receive a £5,000 prize to invest in their business. With a combined value of over £15,000, a free one-year eBay Anchor Store Subscription and access to eBay’s Concierge, the gold-plated customer service team, will also be awarded to category prize winners to support them in growing their businesses over the next year.
eBay received over 1,200 entries for this year’s awards across all categories, with winners selected by an expert panel of judges made up of eBay leadership, industry experts, and previous award winners, including Victoria Bischoff, Money Editor at the Daily Mail and Chris Dawson, Editor of Tamebay.
Murray Lambell General Manager of eBay UK, added: “In what continues to be an exceptionally challenging year for so many, I’m delighted to have the chance to celebrate some of the most impressive small businesses trading on eBay UK. The 300,000 SMEs trading on the platform are a critical part of the UK economy and a reflection of the entrepreneurial spirit that helps this country thrive. It has been a privilege hearing their stories of resilience and determination, and I’m looking forward to seeing what the next year brings for these inspirational sellers.”
The announcement follows new data from eBay UK last month showing the number of new, self-made millionaires on the platform has risen by 35% in the last 12 months, as British entrepreneurialism continues to thrive despite challenging trading conditions. A new survey of SME sellers[1] on eBay has also revealed that almost two thirds (62%) maintained or increased online sales compared to pre-COVID and the overwhelming majority (90%) managed to maintain or increase the number of jobs they support.
It comes as eBay recently launched its "Pay As You Grow" scheme, a new initiative that sees fees removed for any first-time business sellers on the platform until they have made over 100 sales in a single month, and reduced fees thereafter each month. The scheme, running until the end of the year, is inspired by the UK Government policy of loan repayments and designed to give an entrepreneurial helping hand to the growing numbers of unemployed across Britain. This builds on eBay’s continued efforts to support small businesses throughout the COVID-19 crisis, following a wide range of seller support policies brought in since the start of the pandemic.
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Notes to editors
The 11 winning eBay entrepreneurs can be found below:
- From IRL to URL – Jennie Crowhurst, Pennyworths Sweet Shop, Dorset
- Be your own boss Award – Patricia Otoa Ayo, OP Chic Boutique, Bedford
- The Community Hero –Jennifer Hewson, Emmaus Hertfordshire, Hertfordshire
- The Innovation Award – Jack Sutcliffe, Powershed, Bradford
- The Young Upstart – Samuel Langley, Loft Pens, London
- Little to Large – Nick Dunkley, Plumb World, Worcestershire
- Eco-Warrior Award –Carol Rees, Bee Happy Eco Products, Mansfield
- The Specialist Seller Award – David Verney, Classic Trim (Essex) LTD, Essex
- The Resilience Award – Charlotte Slinger and Lydia Hyams, Head Over Heels, Bedford
- The Family Award – Rachel McGill, McGill Motorsport, Fife
- Lockdown Start-up Award – James Mather, Sustain Furniture, Stockport
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