Local Family Builds Auction Website as eBay Alternative

“The idea is to keep as much money in everyone’s pockets as possible … and to keep that money in the U.S.,” said Angelica Caporuscio, local resident and co-creator of one of the Internet’s newest auction websites, iBuyintheUSA.com.

Launched just a month ago, iBuyintheUSA is the Caporuscio family’s low-fee, limited restriction alternative to auction websites such as eBay.

“Everyone we’ve talked to around Macomb, and anyone who uses eBay, said their biggest complaint is they pay too much money in fees,” Caporuscio said. “So we said, ‘Why don’t we create a site with less fees, where you can post videos if you want to and post links back to your website (as a buyer and seller)?’”

Pooling their video editing skills, business know-how and web design talents, Richmond father-daughter duo Pat and Angelica Caporuscio set out to build iBuyintheUSA nine months ago.

“Six years ago my dad had a video auction site that he built and later sold,” Angelica Caporuscio said. “He’s been wanting to start another for awhile. My grandfather has an antique store in Richmond, so it’s in our blood to buy and sell things. We can’t get away from it.”

In a move to keep money in the American economy, Angelica Caporuscio said iBuyintheUSA is designed to allow only American sellers to list auctions on the site. International buyers are more than welcome to make purchases, but a U.S. zip code is required to sell on the site. 

And keeping with the Caporuscio’s goal to minimize costs for both buyers and sellers, the site follows these guidelines:

• Auctions are free to list.
• The first five pictures of the item up for auction are free.
• When the product is sold, no matter the price, there is a 3 percent flat fee that goes back to the site.
• If the item doesn’t sell, there is no fee to maintain the listing.

In terms of security, Angelica Caporuscio said the site has been built with the highest security levels available.

“I monitor the site constantly,” she said. “People aren’t allowed to spam and to prevent people from doing that, everyone has to confirm their account. If their email address is linked to spam, they will be blocked from using the site.”

A review system is also available to protect both buyers and sellers on the site.

“That was a huge thing for me when building this site,” Angelica Caporuscio said. “On other sites, they do buyer protection. But a lot of the time it’s the buyer who claims a part was missing and the seller gets screwed over in the situtation.”

In the iBuyintheUSA feedback section, sellers can leave feedback on their buyers just as buyers can rate the sellers.

“We want to create a really good atmosphere for both parties,” Angelica Caporuscio said. “We have some really, really neat things we are working on integrating right now, too.”

Among those is a related video site that will allow users to more easily upload and embed video of their products to their listing on the site.

"If you have a remote control car and you want to show potential buyers that is works, you post video of it, so people can see it in action," Angelica Caporuscio said. "Plus, a link with video will pop up first in a Google search, so you have a better chance of selling your item with a video attached."

Although the site is still in its infancy, the Caporuscios believe the site's user-friendly interface and economic sense will mean fairly rapid growth.

"The No. 1 thing with all of it was that people need a place where they don’t need a ton of money to sell their items," Angelica Caporuscio said. "We’re really, really exicited with everything we’re putting together for everyone because I think everyone is really going to like it."