William Pazos, the mastermind behind this concept and the president of Tel-e-Buy, has 10 years experience working with emerging markets and advising clients on investment services. "This type of service is currently being offered in Israel and in Brazil and it has been very successful. I have decided to bring this same concept to the U.S. and see if the same will happen," Pazos said.

The way how this service will operate is rather unique.

Tel-e-Buy will have various products on sale, ranging from small appliances to televisions, refrigerators, bicycles, etc. Items will be posted at the following Internet address, www.tel-e-buy.com   every Saturday. Weekly ads showcasing the items also will be placed in various South Florida publications.

"Consumers will have the opportunity to view all items, whether at the Web site or in the newspapers, and can place a bid on the item of their choice. The consumer decides how much they would want to pay for that particular item," Pazos said.

To place bids by telephone, buyers will call 1-900-TEL-E-BUY (1-900-835-3289) and will follow voice prompts. All charges done by phone and on the Internet will be made to the buyer’s credit card for the item.

"Bids can only be made from Saturday through Thursday. We will then tally all bids and the person with the highest bid on that item gets to buy the product; however, they are not obligated to do so."

Winners will be notified via e-mail and by phone. The outcome of the bids will be posted on the Web site the following Saturday and the successful buyers will be featured in the following Saturday’s paper. There will be a participation fee of $3 to place bids on the Internet and $1.99 a minute to use the 900 number. Buyers also will receive a 40 percent discount to bid through the Web site.

"Tel-e Buy is not an auction. Potential buyers are not competing, but they are trying to beat the system," Pazos said. "The entire Tel-e-Buy concept is geared towards people who have already made the decision to purchase a particular item. They are trying to find the medium that has that item at a reasonable cost and Tel-e-Buy is that medium."

"I am hoping to receive at least 5000 calls the first week," Pazos said. "We are hoping to eventually market Tel-e-Buy throughout Florida. Once we have this market under control, we plan to branch out into larger markets."

Tel-e-Buy will donate a portion of the profits to Healing the Children Florida Inc.

"This is a charity that is being established in Florida, and it is a great and worthwhile cause."

Pazos is a managing director of Ourinvest International Corp., a Miami-based company which provides global fund management services. He also is involved with Telelance, a company based in Brazil which sells items showcased in a monthly catalog.

To find out more information on Tel-e-Buy, call 305-539-0599. Tel-e-Buy’s headquarters are located at 1200 Brickell Ave., Suite 1220.

See Next Story