BCC Korea, a company that directly sells Korean goods overseas online, was set up by Kim Ji-hyun and Choi Seok-min, a married couple who were struggling to escape bankruptcy some 10 years ago.

Now, BCC Korea’s revenue has reached 14.5 billion won ($12.9 million), as of last year, and the couple attributes its success to eBay’s direct overseas sales platform.

“In enlarging our online business, eBay’s program was like a textbook,” the company said Tuesday.

It began with Choi taking a free education course on direct overseas sales at eBay’s sales agency center.

They began by selling a variety of products that they already owned to form a better understanding of the global online market.

Soon, they began increasing stocks of popular items and started making profits. Their revenue increased from 2.3 billion won in 2012 to 12.3 billion won in 2015.

One consistent best-seller since the beginning of their business is Korean cosmetics, BCC Korea’s owners said.

The advice provided by eBay Korea’s cross border trade team on setting new programs and market research, as well as knowledge on template formations, item sourcing and eBay trends, allowed them to expand their business from cosmetics to products that reap higher revenues, such as the Hurom juicer and 27-inch monitors, they said.

They added that the stable income from eBay allowed them to expand their business.

With the hope of being listed on the Nasdaq, Kim and Choi last month left for the US, the source of half their revenue, to research the market.

Moon Ji-young, the chief of eBay Korea’s global business department, said “We are glad that the education we have provided the sellers through our early insight on the direct overseas sales market has led to such great achievements.” 

By Yim Ji-min (jiminy@heraldcorp.com)