Mark Greenlaw This is Me

Education

 Web References

1. 1. Web site caters to need to buy

   business.mainetoday.com/news/0 - [Cached]

   Published on: 7/8/2005   Last Visited: 7/9/2005

   Mark Greenlaw of Biddeford and his business partner, Chaz Kraynak of Laureldale, Pa., are banking on America's penchant for novelty (and for buying stuff) for the success of their new venture, the Web site weirdebay.com.
   ...
   Greenlaw and Kraynak scan eBay auctions and also review up to 40 submissions a day from folks looking to promote their eBay offerings on weirdebay.com.
   ...
   But be warned, Kraynak and Greenlaw are connoisseurs of the bizarre, and they have certain standards.
   ...
   "If they don't make us go 'wow,' we're not going to add them," said Greenlaw.
   ...
   Greenlaw, 25, dropped out of Biddeford High School at 18 when he and his girlfriend had their first child. He's since gotten his general equivalency diploma; he and his girlfriend are engaged and now have three children.
   
   A self-described computer geek, Greenlaw has had various jobs over the past few years, including trying to do Web site hosting, working as a security guard and making deliveries and cooking for Saco House of Pizza.
   
   But in his online journeys, Greenlaw was constantly drawn to the amount of money people were willing to drop on odd auctions - $30,000 for ad space on a person's chest, for instance. On impulse, he found that the Web site "weirdebay.com" was not owned. He bought the domain and space on the Internet for $8.
   ...
   Greenlaw said he's sure that eBay is aware of the site. Listing the eBay auctions on weirdebay.com is legal, he asserted, but a legal battle may ensue over the name of the site.
   ...
   But the fact remains that Kraynak and Greenlaw are basically tapping into people's need to spend money in what could be considered a frivolous way.
   ...
   Greenlaw himself sold a "ghost trap" on eBay for $220 - it was a shoebox with a light bulb attached. And if the buyer really needs to catch a ghost and the trap doesn't work?
   
   "It became damaged when I shipped it," Greenlaw said, smiling.
   
   But he added, seriously, that people are buying the novelty, the story. They're not buying a ghost trap, but a conversation piece.
   
   "You're not sitting there looking at it and saying 'wow, this is real,' " he said.
   ...
   For now, Greenlaw and Kraynak are hoping their site gains in popularity and that ad sales become more lucrative as a result.
   ...
   Greenlaw recently left his job at the pizza shop to become a junior partner in a new venture in Biddeford, a variety store/eBay shop, where people can bring their goods to be sold on the auction site, for a percentage of the sale.