Marie Green is a stylist and fashion columnist residing in the Del Mar Area of Southern California. Her style column, “Fashion Focus” appears monthly in FINE San Diego Magazine. Her writing has appeared in various papers, including The Del Mar Times, The Carmel Valley Leader, Rancho Santa Fe Record, and The Solana Beach Sun. Marie is also co-founder of SheWants.com.

I recently had the opportunity to speak with a very fascinating woman, who is on the cutting edge of on-line fashion, Jayme Rones, the founder of “Senor Jayme” a platinum-level e-Bay store. Having a store on e-Bay, one of the world’s largest marketplaces with 233 million sellers, allows Jayme to show her charisma and let her enthusiasm shine through with regards to what she sells and to whom.

Q: Jayme, how did you get your start in the on-line fashion business?
A: “It’s a great story. In 2001, I was hanging out with my friend Chris Kirkpatrick, from super boy-band Nsync, after one of their concerts. Somehow we started talking about Atari games. I told him I really wanted one, but they’re impossible to find. He said, ‘I know where you can get one. There’s this website called e-Bay and they have all sorts of hard to find stuff.’ So I went on e-Bay and bought the Atari, as well as numerous unique things from the ‘70s. Not long after that, I got a bunch of Ugg boots for some clients and they turned out to be the hottest thing that year, so I sold the extra pairs on e-Bay and made a great profit. Then, I started buying more things specifically to sell on e-Bay. Pretty soon, I had such volume, I decided to get retail and business licenses and find out everything I could about e-Bay and make it a career.

Q: What kind of fabulous finds do you feature on your site?
A: “I sell designer handbags, men’s and women’s shoes and clothing, accessories for the home, jewelry and watches.”

Q: Where do you buy your items to put on “Senor Jayme?”
A: “I shop seven days a week at regular retail stores. I have built relationships with salespeople at many stores, including designer stores. I buy things when they go on sale or buy hard to get items whenever I can get them. I was a longtime stylist and luckily I have great connections. Mostly, I think the e-Bay gods have smiled down upon me and I have been in the right place at the right time.

Q: What are your most popular items?
A: “My most popular items are designer handbags like Chanel, Gucci, Dior and Louis Vuitton. Anything Juicy sells incredibly well and also men’s shoes like Vans and Nike. Also, I watch Oprah and try to sell what she endorses on her show.

Q: What differentiates your store and your platinum status from others on e-Bay?
A: “I stand behind the authenticity of my merchandise and have receipts for everything I buy. I have been ripped off, so I am vigilant about trust and safety. Plus, I give great customer service because I think of my clients as my friends. When a client receives something he or she bought from me, it is wrapped beautifully in Christmas wrap, because they can feel like it’s their own personal Christmas.”

Q: Some people are cautious when buying on-line; do you accept returns?
A: “No. But sometimes I will make an exception on a case-by-case basis. In the beginning, I did accept returns, but people have tried to return things they didn’t even buy from me. Now, I mark my merchandise in a special way, so I can prove it is or isn’t mine. I learned about this process at the e-Bay convention.”

Q: Can you me about the e-Bay convention and it’s benefits?
A: “Every year there is a four-day convention for everyone who sells on e-Bay. In 2006, it was in Las Vegas and in 2007 it was just in Boston this past weekend. As a Platinum Seller, I attend special classes for selling strategies, finance and merchandise. This year, I really looked forward to a presentation by Suze Orman, the financial guru and Meg Whitman, the CEO of e-Bay. There was even a private concert by Bruce Hornsby.”

After years of doing things she didn’t love, Jayme Rones is doing something she looks forward to every morning when she gets up. She receives about 350 e-mails everyday from all over the world — and answers all of them. It is exciting for Jayme to have an international presence and sell great merchandise to so many people that otherwise may not ever have the chance to own it.

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