Livermore Businesswoman Recognized As eBay Top Seller

From eWaste: Livermore businesswoman Angie Nelson, Co-Owner of eWasteDirect, Inc. has been recognized by online e-commerce giant eBay as one of the corporation’s top sellers, and as a result was invited to participate in the 13th Annual United States of eBay Seller Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill.

As part of the event, Nelson traveled to Washington, DC May 15-16 to meet with elected officials on various issues important to her business, including the way that the Internet, technology, and platforms like eBay have revolutionized the way that small business operate, discuss why it’s important that lawmakers keep small Internet-enabled entrepreneurs in mind when considering various public policy initiatives, and showcase how eBay has led to her dramatic growth as a small business in Livermore.

“eBay has been an absolute blessing,” Nelson said. “We wouldn’t be where we are today without eBay. It allowed our business to reach a worldwide audience, something we would never have been able to achieve on our own.”

Of particular concern is the proposed Internet sales tax, which would treat small online businesses like eWasteDirect the same as a mega-billion-dollar retailer and negatively impact small business growth and development. The Supreme Court is set to decide on whether a state can impose sales tax collection obligations on sellers without a physical presence in that state, which will determine whether the 4.1 million small businesses that sell online can continue to do so successfully. eBay has filed an amicus curiae briefwith the Court on this issue.

eWasteDirect currently employs 11 individuals operating out of a retail store and a 5,000 square foot warehouse, and exports 16 percent of its products.

In total, 20 small businesses from across the United States were selected to participate in the advocacy day. Each of these businesses will tell their small business story directly to their Representatives and Senators, as well as their Congressional staff members.

eWasteDirect eBay store is available at http://stores.ebay.com/AngiesGreenGoSurplus.

About eWasteDirect, Inc.

Husband and wife team, Angie and Joe Nelson, founded eWaste Direct, Inc. on Earth Day in 2008. This green business was created to divert electronic waste from landfills, offering multiple services to businesses throughout the San Francisco Bay Area. Initially, the Nelsons focused on collecting broken and retired electronics from businesses and selling the materials to various scrap recyclers. However, they soon realized that instead of selling the electronics to vendors to be destroyed for commodities, they could list marketable items for resale on eBay. The business took off and over the years has managed to consistently evolve and increase profit. While many of the business’s original competitors have struggled with falling commodity prices, eWaste Direct, Inc. remains committed to providing environmentally friendly solutions for the proper reuse and recycling of corporate IT and consumer electronics. To date, eWaste Direct, Inc. is proud to have diverted well over 5 million pounds of e-waste from landfills and is on target to exceed its next milestone of 10 million pounds.

Image Via eWaste