In fact, he's more like an eBay broker.

While most masterminds of the online marketplace get rid of old junk to make a quick buck, Uribe is betting his entire career on the Web site full of used goods.

For a 30 percent commission, the owner of Rancho Cucamonga-based Let Us Sell It is finding buyers for stuff lying around the house that sellers just don't want anymore.

"I've sold everything from 1969 (Chevrolet) Z28 Camaros to sports memorabilia," Uribe said. "We've even got Thomas Kinkade paintings. At this point, the people who wanna sell them basically need money."

He's even sold a cracked baseball bat broken by St. Louis Cardinals slugger Albert Pujols, a historic 1904 political-party song sheet, and snowboards to clients in Brazil and Israel.

An eBay user since 1998, Uribe is capitalizing on a trend among eBay experts of setting up shop and selling other people's goods for a price.

But he's trying to set himself apart from the pack. Uribe offers to pick up items at customers' homes, which cuts a headache out of the equation for some people.

"Seven days later, when it's sold, I'll meet the buyer at the seller's house and do the transaction there," Uribe said.

That's the fun part.

The challenging part is still to come. Uribe wants to use more of his time managing and growing his operation, eventually opening up at least one more location and hiring two more eBay-savvy workers, in addition to his daughter, who already works for him.

He'll have to increase sales to get there. Right now, he's doing $5,000 to $7,000 a month in sales commissions - enough to pay the bills and invest a little bit back into the business.

Maybe he can double or triple that in the next five years, he's thinking.

"A lot of people say, `I don't have the time to sell this,' and some people just ... get intimidated by the eBay monster," Uribe said. "That's why a big majority of my customer base says, `Since you know how to sell it, do what you need to do and I'll pay you."'

Both Uribe and his fiance, Wendy Hernandez, are strategizing about how much more advertising and marketing it's going to take to take the business to the next level.

"The last four or five months have been a challenge because of the economy ... but he's really motivated and super-positive about things," Hernandez said. "No matter how bad something looks, he just moves forward. He's real focused and just keeps going forward and perservering."

In the meantime, Uribe is having fun. He's surprised every week by what customers ask him to sell.

"One day I'm dealing with antiques, another day I'm dealing with artwork, and another day I'm dealing with horse saddles or jewelry," he said. "I never know what I'm gonna get."

matthew.wrye@inlandnewspapers.com

(909) 386-3871