AuctionBytes is running a series of interviews with people who have had an impact in the online-auction industry in order to get their views on the current state of the auction world. In today's Industry Profile, we interview A. Marek Bradbury. Marek is founder of AuctionTool.com, a provider of "SmartCounters" for eBay auctions that launched in June 2004. Marek also co-founded online payment service BidPay, which he sold to First Data Corporation/Western Union in 2001.

AuctionBytes: Tell us a little bit about yourself. What did you do before you became involved in the online auction industry?

A. Marek Bradbury: I was in the telecommunications business, which relies heavily on computers. I started that company in 1985 and sold out to my partners in the venture who were GTE (now Verizon) in 1992.

AuctionBytes: When did you discover online auctions and how did you become involved in them?

A. Marek Bradbury: I have always been an early adopter of new technologies and as such, I was always buying the latest gadget, stereo, camera or computer. Technology being what it is, these items were always becoming outdated and replaced with newer models, and I was in a constant cycle of upgrading.

When eBay came along, it provided the perfect venue for me to not only sell my older and outdated items, but also to make my new purchases.

Prior to BillPoint or PayPal, I was always frustrated with the process of having to go to the bank and purchase cashiers check to send to sellers when making purchases. Together with my brother-in-law, I decided to create BidPay in early 1999. We sold our first money order for $10 on April 3, 1999, about a year before PayPal began offering eBay payment solutions.

AuctionBytes: In 2001, you sold BidPay. Can you tell us about that?

A. Marek Bradbury: BidPay became an instant success with both buyers and sellers and was handling hundreds of thousands of transactions per month when it was purchased by First Data Corporation (NYSE: FDC), which in turn owns Western Union. Since their purchase, BidPay has continued to grow and meet the needs of both buyers and sellers and is now considerably larger than when we sold it.

AuctionBytes: Could you tell us more about your current business?

A. Marek Bradbury: After selling BidPay, we acted as consultants to First Data for approximately 18 months, so while we were not in the forefront, we continued to be very much involved with the eBay community. Once our consulting agreement with First Data expired, we again became itchy to establish and maintain our presence in and with the eBay community.

We have identified 8-10 key areas where we see room for improvement in the various program offerings that are available to eBay buyers and sellers, and we are in the process of developing a number of unique and completely innovative services for both buyers and sellers.

The first of these programs is auctiontool.com which are SmartCounters designed to allow sellers to gather a host of statistical information about who is viewing their auctions. These SmartCounters are available free of charge, and since introducing them at eBay Live in New Orleans, they have become an instant hit with many eBay sellers.

We have been speaking with and listening to hundreds of sellers who are telling us what they need and want for their eBay listings, and we are in the process of developing a large number of tools and services that we will provide to eBay users either for free or at very minimal cost.

AuctionBytes: What are some of your most memorable experiences in this industry?

A. Marek Bradbury: Without question I derived a great deal of pleasure from helping new users learn how to use eBay. Many of our early customers were smalltime sellers handling 5-10 items per week who have now gone on to become huge powersellers with thousands of transactions per week.

AuctionBytes: How has the online-auction industry changed since you first became involved?

A. Marek Bradbury: The level of sophistication and professionalism from sellers on eBay has continued to amaze me. eBay has grown into a global professional marketplace dominated by less than 5,000 sellers who collectively represent about 25% of eBay's sales volume.

AuctionBytes: Do you feel that online merchants are in a better position now than 4 or 5 years ago? Why or why not?

A. Marek Bradbury: Payment vehicles such as BidPay and PayPal have matured (along with the sellers) to the point where secure and safe transactions now represent a much larger portion of the overall sales volume. As a purchaser I have personally done about 350 transactions on eBay from sellers in Taiwan, Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Canada, the UK and the United States, and each of those transactions was completed flawlessly.

AuctionBytes: What are the challenges users are facing?

A. Marek Bradbury: eBay's increasing fees as well as a saturation in the marketplace will continue to affect larger volume professional sellers and erode both market share and earnings for those sellers.

AuctionBytes: Can you share with us a tip or trick, or a tool that you use, that helps you sell on eBay more efficiently or makes you life easier?

A. Marek Bradbury: Auctiontool.com for counters to see who is viewing my auctions, BidPay to handle the payments, and a whole host of new tools that we're working on brining to market.

AuctionBytes: Where do you see the industry headed?

A. Marek Bradbury: I think that eBay is reaching a plateau. With 104 million users and representation in just about every major industrialized market, there isn't much room for additional growth. I now think the market will mature internally and that we will see many smaller sellers falling by the wayside.

AuctionBytes: What are some of the biggest challenges facing online-auction sellers in the next 5 years?

A. Marek Bradbury: eBay fees, fulfillment costs, merchant fees and increased competition from other sellers are going to drive margins down.

AuctionBytes: Are you working on any projects for the future?

A. Marek Bradbury: A one-stop shop for sellers offering listing submission, page design, hosting, fulfillment, shipping, tracking, email, feedback, counters and a whole host of tools for buyers including a bidding robot that will handle bid submissions automatically (commonly referred to as sniper programs). We are also working on a program that will allow buyers and sellers to communicate directly to expedite the sale.

AuctionBytes: Where do you see your business in 5 years?

A. Marek Bradbury: Ever changing and growing.