News

Marilyn Bild knows a thing or two about selling on eBay. The British Columbia entrepreneur runs her own business selling Indian saris on her custom-built eBay on-line store, and when she has time, she teaches the finer points of the on-line auction site with her "The Basics of Selling on eBay" course at Vancouver Community College.

Ms. Bild topped more than 300 entries in the annual eBay Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year competition. For the second year in a row, an on-line entrepreneur from the West Coast topped the awards.

Entrants were judged on their written submissions, which asked them to describe the growth and evolution of their on-line businesses, and specific on-line innovations they created to adapt to the changing needs of their customers.

"We are proud to recognize the accomplishments of Canadian entrepreneurs who have used eBay to create profitable and expanding on-line businesses," says Jordan Banks, managing director, eBay Canada.

"eBay is a powerful tool for Canadian small business owners and we continue to support their entrepreneurial spirit and efforts to reach new markets for their products and services."

This year, the submissions of the top 10 finalists were reviewed by a panel of honourary judges who selected the winning entries. The judges were: Catherine Swift, chairwoman, president and CEO of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business; Nancy Hughes Anthony, president and CEO of The Canadian Chamber of Commerce; and Ian Portsmouth, editor of PROFIT Magazine.

The winners are as follows:

First place: Marilyn Bild, Vancouver, B.C. (eBay user ID: totallytextiles)

Second place: Chad Pescod, Whitby, Ont. (eBay user ID: envirosponsible)

Third place: Shera Wust, Surrey, B.C. (eBay user ID: thrash8ac)

Prizes are $5,000 for first place, $2,000 for second place and $1,000 for third place.