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Memos

Miri Pardo, daughter of Zachary and
Hetty Davies of Oak Park, has been
promoted to senior editor in the
communications unit of
Glencoe/McGraw Hill in Woodland
Hills, Calif. She will report to the
vice president, group editorial direc-
tor for business administration, com-
puter education, communications,
occupations and office techiiology.

Jeffrey S. Pitt of
Ann Arbor has
joined the Detroit-
based law firm of
Honigman Miller
Schwartz and
Cohn LLP as an
associate in the real
estate department.
Jeffrey Pitt
He earned his juris
doctor from the
University of Michigan Law School
in 2000.

AL,

Shecter goes over "myEZsale" procedures with Mail Works Plus manager Saaleom Sain.

Amazon and Yahoo! were brisk for
the holiday season; eBay alone moves
500,000 items daily.
Schecter decided to start the
business when his mother wanted-
to get rid of a lot of merchandise
accumulated over the years, but she
lacked pertinent computer knowl-
edge and was reluctant to try the
online auctions. Toby Schecter of
West Bloomfield and her husband,
Allan, founded A & T Estate Sales
in the early 1980s, but she left the
firm when they divorced. Allan
Schecter operated it until his death
last May. His father was basketball
great Myron (Susie) Schecter, a
member of the Michigan Jewish
Sports Hall of Fame.
"When my parents ran the estate
sales business, and for a long time
afterward, my mother accumulated
all kinds of treasures that were just
stuffed into our house," said
Mitchell. "This is our chance to get
rid of a lot of it, plus help many
other people do the same."
Schecter, 41, graduated from
West Bloomfield High School in
1977 and Michigan State University
in 1981, becoming a certified pub-
lic accountant. But he worked in
accounting only until 1985. He
moved to the Boston area, where he
and his wife, Michele, live with
their two children.

He founded several companies, the
most lucrative being Up & Adam and
Consumer Plastics, which invented,
made and sold children's products.
He operated the firms with his wife,
while serving as marketing director of
another firm.

Venture Capital

Opening myEZsale.com in
Framingham, Mass., with 28 employ-
ees, Schecter obtained initial venture
capital from JAFCO Ventures,
General Catalyst and I-Group
Hotbank, all operated mostly by
Jewish people. A 10-person executive
team was established, including Peter
Freedman, director of network infra-
structure. Schecter's title is executive
vice president of sales, deferring to
Don Larson, a nationally known
entrepreneur, who is president and
CEO.
"To get venture capital, you form
the management team, write up your
plans and strategy and make presenta-
tions to banks, insurance companies
and other corporations," he
explained. "These companies have
been giving millions of dollars to
organizations like ours, and to
Internet entrepreneurs in general.
"Even though I started the com-
pany, I preferred not to be CEO. I'm
not on an ego trip ... I'm content to
be a vice president. In these venture-

capital deals, it's always better to have
top officers with reputations as suc-
cessful businessmen. Larson has
enjoyed tremendous success building
and managing entrepreneurial ven-
tures."
Here's how myEZsales.com
works: A person wishing to sell an
item fills out a form describing it and
indicating a minimum desired sales
price. The myEZsales.com employee
snaps a digital photo of the item and
uploads the information and image to
the major Internet site. When the
item is sold to the highest bidder,
sometimes a week later, it is profes-
sionally packed, taken to the post
office and shipped.
Cost to the seller is a $6 fee,
plus 6 percent of the sales price. That
covers auction fees and any credit
cards fees. The company has been
advertising its services through news-
paper ads and direct mail.
"In a nutshell, we alleviate the
most difficult elements of selling
online," said Schecter. "The compa-
nies we use for shipping are the
most experienced and professional
pack-and-ship experts in the United
States. I'm excited that we were able
to bring this personal service to the
Detroit area. We're relieving the
merchandise burden from a lot of
people — and my mother is espe-
cially happy."

Herschel P. Fink
of West
Bloomfield, a part-
ner in the litiga-
tion department of
Detroit-based
Honigman Miller
Schwartz and
Cohn LLP, has
Herschel Fink
been named in the
ninth edition of
The Best Lawyers in America 2001-
2002. Fink was cited as a top practi-
tioner in the area of First
Amendment law, specializing in
media law. His clients include a
major daily newspaper, other publish-
ers, national television networks and
local broadcasters.

Man Friedman of West Bloomfield has
been promoted to account supervisor at
Marx Layne & Co., a marketing and
public relations agency. Robyn Goren
of Southfield has been promoted to
senior account executive.

Alan Hurvitz of
West Bloomfield, a
partner in the real
estate law depart-
ment of Detroit-
based Honigman
Miller Schwartz
and Cohn LLP, has
been named in the
Alan Hurvitz
ninth edition of
The Best Lawyers in
America 2001-2002.

3/9

2001

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