From eBay Sales to an Independent Success
Bruce Hershenson spent a decade as one of eBay’s highest-grossing collectibles sellers—until 2008 fee and feedback policy changes made the platform a riskier, costlier place to scale. He exited overnight, migrating 30 k+ buyers to his own domain, eMoviePoster.com. Within four months he matched the $1 M in sales he’d done on eBay, proving that:
- Owning the platform = owning the customer-relationship.
- Brand loyalty transfers when communication channels (email lists, forums) are under your control.
- Fees saved on third-party marketplaces can be reinvested in customer incentives and tech upgrades.
Take-away for auctioneers: If you’re planning a move off a marketplace, start by collecting emails and promoting your own URL today. See our guide on transitioning off third-party platforms for a step-by-step checklist.
Tech-Enabled Growth with Auction Software
Instead of building software from scratch, Hershenson partnered with AuctionAnything.com—a hosted auction platform that offered:
| Feature | Why It Mattered to Collectors | How It Scales Revenue |
|---|---|---|
| Time-extended bidding | Prevents last-second “sniping,” raising final prices | +10-15 % avg. hammer on competitive lots |
| 100 % responsive design | Seamless mobile bidding drives engagement | ~60 % of 2024 traffic came from mobile |
| Proxy bidding & bulk scheduling | Handles 100 k+ lots/year with minimal staff overhead | Maintains weekly cadence without downtime |
The result: eMoviePoster now averages $5.7 M in annual sales while running just three curated auctions per week.
Resource: Compare leading auction bidding platforms in our recent blog post.
Niche Mastery: Why Specialization Wins
Hershenson doubled-down on one vertical—vintage movie posters—and now claims the world’s largest poster archive (1.9 M pieces sold). Specialization delivers:
- Authority & trust – Decades of scholarship and “honest grading” differentiate his listings.
- Network effects – Sellers consign where the biggest pool of poster-hungry bidders live.
- Marketing efficiency – Every ad dollar targets the same collector persona.
Contrast that with generalist houses like Heritage Auctions, where posters are a small slice of a billion-dollar pie. For poster collectors, eMoviePoster feels like a boutique built just for them—and they repay that focus with loyalty and higher bids.
Building Loyalty Through Value, Not Gimmicks
eMoviePoster’s retention playbook is refreshingly simple:
- Zero buyer’s premium. Bidders pay what they bid—period.
- Actual-cost shipping plus a 16-week “Pay & Hold” option that auto-combines purchases to slash freight costs (powered by AfterShip-style tracking).
- Weekly “insider” email club featuring collecting tips, sneak peeks and surprise giveaways (think limited-edition T-shirts).
- Record-keeping archive so every bidder can research past prices for free.
These policies turn first-time bidders into long-term customers; many have been active for 10–20 years.
Lessons for Auction Entrepreneurs
- Own the audience. Collect emails, build social communities and push every buyer toward your domain.
- Specialize first, expand later. Authority in one category beats anonymity in many.
- Scale with existing tech. Hosted auction software lets you launch fast and focus on inventory.
- Reward loyalty. Replace gimmicks with real value—lower fees, transparent shipping, meaningful perks.
- Play the long game. Integrity compounds; shortcuts erode trust (and consignments).
Ready to catalog faster—and sell smarter?
AuctionWriter’s AI-powered cataloging auctioneer software let’s you focus on strategy, not data entry. Try AuctionWriter free today.