New Online Auctioneer Beats EBay To The TubeNew Online Auctioneer Beats EBay To The Tube

Upstart Gruvo Inc. has a long way to go to match eBay Inc.'s 37.6 million registered users. But after only two weeks online, the auction site pulled off something that eBay says it's still a year from doing: hosting a television show.

Gruvo's half-hour show, the first of its kind for a Web auctioneer, debuted last week on AOL Time Warner's local cable-TV channel in New York. The program, which also is streamed on Gruvo's Web site, is an animated commercial during which "virtual hostesses" Lucky, Cristina, and Fuji promote privately held Gruvo and some of the items listed on the site.

Things went so well during the first show that Gruvo decided to air it seven days a week, 30 minutes a day, on the cable channel, starting Nov. 19. The site will update the show weekly for now and daily beginning in January, when the company plans to expand to other markets.

"We couldn't be happier with the feedback we're getting from our community who have experienced much the same issues on eBay," such as fees and suspension of users without notice, says Marie Patel, a disgruntled former eBay seller who co-founded Gruvo eight months ago. "It's like home shopping, but a little futuristic." Channel 35 averages 200,000 to 300,000 viewers, she says.

For more than a year, eBay has talked of its own TV show; most recently, company officials in August said a daily half-hour show will launch next fall and will focus on personal stories from collectors who connect on eBay.

Gruvo, which has 450 registered users and more than 7,000 items listed for sale, received thousands of hits following the broadcast, Patel says.

In addition to free listings, the big attraction for many is the live-chat customer assistance, which uses software from LivePerson Inc. to handle questions about listing an item or navigating through the site. That's what separates Gruvo from eBay, which often takes 48 hours to respond to queries via E-mail. Patel staffs the live chat personally, along with six other Gruvo call-center employees.

"We'll be quick to respond. They'll get a personalized E-mail," Patel says of Gruvo's customers. "I think people are looking for that connection."