King's Lynn business owner credits eBay for his company's survival

Shaun O'Brien, who owns King's Lynn-based Direct Plants with his wife, Karina, and parents said they were in a "desperate situation" when they started selling their garden plants and trees on the online marketplace in 2006.

He said: "I started selling on eBay out of sheer desperation to save the business.

Direct Plants owns a nursery near King's Lynn which employs 10 people (Image: eBay)

"We were in a desperate situation and it was just one of those light blub moments.

"An eBay advert came on TV on New Year's Day 2006 and we jokingly said that it would be lovely if you could sell plants and trees on eBay.

"The idea couldn't settle in the back of my brain and within the next few hours I was on eBay and researching the internet.

"I was absolutely amazed that there were people actually selling our products on eBay and on the internet.

"I could instantly see that there was a massive scope to do a much larger business online and by the end of the day I had already set up an eBay account.

"That was the turning point.

"We started in January and by the end of spring 2006 our eBay business was that successful that all four family members - my wife and my two parents - were all full-time employees to the business."

Direct Plants was set up by Mr O'Brien's parents Pat and Linda O'Brien in 1989 who had the vision of growing and selling their own plants and trees.

Due to the seasonality of the business they ran into many challenges and when Mr O'Brien joined the company he began implementing ideas to help it become more successful.

He said: "As I grew older I came onboard and really enjoyed the nursery and I tried everything to make the business survive for the full 12-month period of the year.

"I used to do markets, shows, car boot sales, we even opened a bricks and mortar retail shop but unfortunately back in the mid-2000s all those things that I achieved suffered because of the global credit crunch.

"The shop was closed in 2005 because it was not profitable enough."

Mr O'Brien said that although the financial crisis happened in 2007, things "started to creep in a bit before that".

The company sells garden plants and trees (Image: eBay)

He added: "The people down at the bottom end of the chain started to see those pinches and shortage of money a year or two before it was a worldwide problem."

The expecting father said that "eBay saved the entire business" and allowed its King's Lynn nursery, which employs 10 people, to stay open.

Along with selling via eBay, which accounts for 40pc of its sales, the company also sells 30-40pc of its products through its own website and the remaining via other online marketplaces.

eBay is currently promoting its sales platform to small Norfolk businesses and is hosting an event at the Assembly House in Norwich on Friday July 1 in partnership with Small Business Britain and the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce.

Part of the event will include information about how local companies can apply for grants of up to £5,000 from eBay to help fund their growth.

Although Mr O'Brien's business is now thriving, he is aware that the current cost-of-living crisis could have an impact, although he believes that his company is now in a much better position compared to 2007.

He said: "Our eBay store journey began in a credit crunch and we are now in another economic crisis.

"Often people turn to our kind of gardening products when they can't spend too much on holidays or can't afford to eat out too much or do other things that are quite costly.

"At times like this people naturally turn to what they've got and one of the biggest things people have got is their garden.

"It doesn't matter what size the garden is, whether it is a balcony, large garden or a small garden, people can for quite a low cost invest in their garden - be it a new plant or a new tree.

"People get a lot of joy in times of uncertainty from their garden and we're predicting people will turn back to their homes and gardens."