The 4th annual eBay for Business Awards are open for entries with the grand prize totalling a humongous £20,000 in cash. You have until 11:59:59 on the 4th of September to submit your entry. As we continue to revisit some of last year’s winners, today we look at Just Because:
Just Because One Year On
Jeanette started her business 6 years ago, selling scarves, jewellery and accessories at Christmas fairs, and a few years later opened a physical shop. Based in Wolverhampton, Jeanette began selling on eBay alongside her bricks and mortar store, and not long after she joined eBay’s Retail Revival programme in partnership with the City of Wolverhampton to make the most of her retail business.
Just Because won the coveted Retail Revival Award at last year’s eBay for Business Awards
How did you use the prize money from your award?
Whilst I invested the majority of the winnings on stock for the business, I did treat myself to a day at the spa!
Did the pandemic impact your business?
My bricks and mortar store had to close on the 23 March, this was a really testing time as I didn’t know when and if I would be able to re-open, and all the bills had to still be paid. The skills I developed as part of eBay’s Retail Revival programme really helped me manage things during this time. I took all my stock home and uploaded everything to eBay and ran my business from home. This allowed me to continue selling, otherwise I would have a had no income and would have made an already testing time even harder.
Was eBay a helpful lifeline during the pandemic?
It was great to be able to still talk to the concierge who gave so many helpful tips to keep the business going and boost sales. It was reassuring to know they were still available for any problems or issues. In fact, my sales on eBay trebled during this time.
What are your future plans for your business?
At the moment I have reopened my shop but I am working on a month to month basis reflecting on our performance. Like everyone in retail, we’re interested to see if people keep shopping online or go back to their High Street. We’re determined to keep going and adapt as necessary to the changing nature of retail.
2 Responses
So great that Ebay has enabled companies like Just Because to adapt to changes in the market during the pandemic