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Virendra Rajawat arrived in Toronto with his wife in 2004, filled with ambition to land a job in his field of medical diagnostics, make a new home, and give his children a solid education.

But frustration and worry mounted when Rajawat failed to find work. Hearing the buzz about all the goods being bought and sold on eBay, he started looking into it. Within a year, he had transformed himself from a jobless immigrant into a successful entrepreneur selling jewellery online.

Having grown up in the Jaipur region, the renowned centre of India’s jewellery industry, Rajawat was already acquainted with gemstones.

“Jewellery is a small item,” he adds. “It’s easily shipped, stored and managed, with minimal investment and warehousing.”

With a few pieces of jewellery he already owned, he set up an auction on eBay from his virtual storefront, called Sonatona. He was surprised at how quickly it was snapped up.

Soon, he was placing orders with jewellery makers in Jaipur. His focus was jewellery set with semi-precious stones, such as amethyst, topaz and opals, fashioned with sterling silver. In his first year of business in 2005, he recorded sales of $35,000.

With thousands of jewellery vendors on eBay, Rajawat was daunted by the competition. But he understood that buyers need clear, close-up photos of the merchandise, taken from various angles, along with detailed, accurate descriptions.

He upgraded his camera to a digital SLR and visited online photography discussions to perfect his presentation. He listed all dimensions, weight, sizes of stones, ring size, and the conditions of sale. He also guaranteed customer satisfaction or a complete refund. Sonatona’s sales soared.

Rajawat expanded his knowledge of gemstones, their availability and cost. He paid attention to market demands. Studying other eBay jewellers, he identified the most popular styles and price categories.

He discovered that customers prefer unique designs and lots of variety in style. Not settling for Jaipur’s standard styles, he took on a more active role in design.

“We tweaked our designs. With the rings, we would vary the shank, the gemstones, shapes and cuts, the scrolling of the silver, and generally come out with bolder designs — 99 per cent of our items are one of a kind. All this innovation attracted many new customers and grew our repeat base.”

By recognizing the retail patterns, Rajawat could target his orders with the manufacturers in Jaipur, and trim his costs.

The auction format suited Sonatona’s operation: start low, no reserve bid, and a seven-day cycle. Frequent or volume buyers get a shipping discount. It has all helped move the jewellery fast, and kept refunds close to nil.

This year, Rajawat expects sales of more than $200,000, including jewellery customizing and fitting fees. His list of customers includes dealers and resellers.

Although he still imports from India, some jewellery pieces are mass-produced in Canada. He has been named eBay Canada’s Entrepreneur of the Year for 2010.

“I never dreamed I would have this kind of success,” he beams. “There are wonderful opportunities in Canada. By using forums like eBay, I have built up a business that permits me to make a substantial living, while working with what I love, with the people I love.”