Every day on eBay, shoppers spend thousands of dollars on single luxury items, offered by sellers who cater to a high-end market. After growing up in his father’s fine jewelry and watch shop, Arman Baig became one of those sellers. He expanded the family business to eBay, and with the help of tools such as eBay’s Authenticity Guarantee, eBay International Shipping and eBay live events, he has sold and sourced worldwide, shaping the multimillion-dollar venture.

Get to know Arman and his shop, Swiss Ice, in his own words:

A third generation luxury watch seller

My dad started this business in the early nineties with his father. I was brought up in the jewelry store, and I remember tagging watches and helping out after school from the age of seven. So luxury watches are a family passion that I was introduced to as a kid. My dad laid the groundwork for the business, and along the way I learned how to run, operate, and grow it.

By the age of thirteen, I was using my dad’s eBay account often to look at shoes. As I got older and continued to use the platform for my personal use, I realized we had an opportunity to expand our family business online. eBay was the clear choice because it had a broad reach and it allowed us to contact customers directly.

Sourcing on-trend timepieces from around the globe

We sell globally to marketplaces such as Australia, Norway, Germany, and France. With so many watches listed on eBay, we’re always trying to be relevant and bring in products that make us stand out as a seller. Knowing what watches are selling well around the world at any given moment is a big part of the equation.

Always honest and high-touch customer service

In the luxury watch market, our number one value has to be honesty. Our word is the most important thing. If we aren’t honest and true to our word, then we’re not going to get very far because the business runs on trust, from start to finish.

Excellent feedback from buyers on eBay is our top priority. Without great feedback, we have no credibility. We’re really proud that we’ve maintained 100% feedback on eBay in our 12 years, with 3,800 reviews and counting. Most of our positive feedback is credited to lightning-fast shipping – we can have a watch to a buyer overnight domestically or anywhere in the world within three days.

The eBay tools that keep his store competitive

Quite a few eBay tools have been essential to growing our business.

Our selling process has become more seamless with Authenticity Guarantee. It’s reduced fraud because there’s a third party inspecting the item to prove its authenticity. And in case of return, it’s nice to know that everything we sent out originally will come back to us as stated.

Product Research has been helpful to see what's selling in the luxury watch market on eBay. I'm on the tool at least once or twice a week for a couple hours just doing my research on who's selling what, what's selling well on eBay, and to see what similar items are selling for so we can match or beat those prices.

We’ve also hosted four eBay Live events, which has been a learning process. In our most recent one, we actually sold two Rolex watches, which is amazing. It’s given us a lot of credibility, and now our customers can put a face to the Swiss Ice name while a staff member or I show them the inventory live.