Brooklyn Business Started By College Student Wins National Award

BOROUGH PARK, BROOKLYN — A local eyewear company started as a side project for a medical school student has won a national award and could become eBay's Small Business of the Year.

The company, Frames in Optics, is one of eight small businesses based on eBay's e-commerce website that were selected for its Shine Awards and is in the running for the site's Small Business of The Year title. It was started by Brooklynite Dov Schreiber back in 2014 when he was just starting out as an undergraduate biology student working toward becoming a physician.

Even though he started it on his own just barely older than the 18-years minimum age requirement to sell on eBay, the business took off quick enough that Schreiber decided to pursue it as his full-time career when he graduated a few years later, the Borough Park resident said.

"At that point (in 2014) my 'warehouse' was a desk drawer that held maybe 12 pairs of eyeglasses," Schreiber said. "By the time I graduated, I suddenly realized that I had become so successful on eBay...that all I wanted to do was to stay with it. In the year after graduation, I grossed $600,000 in sales. The next year, the gross was close to $1 million."

Schreiber said he started the business when he was considering ways to help pay for his college tuition. He had had a part-time job in a small optical shop and realized that selling glasses online seemed to be becoming more popular than the traditional brick-and-mortar stores.

The college student began offering designer and non-designer frames, both sunglasses and prescription, to women, men and children.

"And since eyeglasses are a commodity that will always be needed, I figured that the combination of my expertise in the field, the movement to an online market, and the kick I get out of providing great service had a good chance of success," he said.

The eBay model let him spend as much or as little time as he could on the business while still working on his degree, Schreiber said.

The website also let him expand internationally with their global shipping program. Frames in Optics has now sold its glasses to customers in more than 100 countries, he said.

He also has a warehouse in Borough Park where more local customers can come for a walk-in shopping experience.

"From that single drawer with a dozen pairs of glasses five years ago, I now have more than 3,000 items for sale on eBay," Schreiber said.

The Shine Award means Frames in Optics is in the running to win $15,000 if he is voted the Small Business of the Year. The general public can vote for its three favorite sellers among the eight winners, once a day, from July 15 through July 25.

The seller with the most votes will win the $15,000 and be named the Small Business of the Year. The second and third place winners will be named Platinum Winners and the balance, Gold Winners. The two Platinum Winners and five Gold Winners each receive $10,000 and $5,000, respectively, among a variety of additional prizes.

You can find out more about the awards and how to vote here.