73-Year-Old Man Takes On eBay!

Fox Business:

It may seem like a crazy idea, but at 73 years old Donald Karr is taking on Internet giants like Ebay by starting a live auction site where users pick up paddles, listen to auctioneers cry out and find out immediately if they have won.

Contrasting the young entrepreneurs who have found success on the Internet, like the developers of Facebook and MySpace, Karr is proving that the internet is for everyone. Karr, a retired antique and jewelry dealer, recently launched his 24-hour a day, old-fashioned, live internet auction called BlackwellsLiveAuction.com.

Karr, of North Palm Beach, FL, came up with the idea while attempting to sell his remaining antique inventory. He felt the internet auctions were stagnant and lacked the charm of live auctions he had attended throughout the years. So he developed the auction site, a fun, suspenseful and exciting alternative to the normal internet auctions.

Blackwells Live Auction hopes to capture a share of internet auction users by offering customers the chance to lift up their paddles and bid during a live auction, all without leaving the comfort of their home computer. Unlike eBay, users can watch and participate in the bidding from start to finish and know immediately if they have won an item. Users can sell their items for a flat fee of $2.99 per item and the site is easy to use and navigate.

Photo by Blackwells Live Auction.

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