Pam, the mom, taught high school for a number of years.  In 1998--the year she turned forty--left the teaching profession. She needed time and space after some traumatic life events, so she took a year's leave of absence, fully intending to change schools but to return to the profession. But in that year, she met Don, the pop half of the Mom and Pop biz. 

After a brief courtship, they married.  Some more traumatic events prevented Pam from returning to teaching in the 1999/2000 school year.  During that year, Pam introduced Don to the thrills of junking.  Because they were newlyweds, he reluctantly agreed to attend the first estate sales, but after that he was hooked. Soon they were spending every weekend  treasure hunting at estate sales, flea markets, antique stores and sometimes even auctions.

Pretty soon, they had a full house.  So Pam started selling at local flea markets.  That was fine, but she kept hearing about eBay.  One lady would come in every month and buy several hundred dollars worth of items.  About the third month, Pam asked, "what are you doing with all this stuff?"

"Selling it on eBay," the lady said. 

Being a nosey--errr curious, sort, Pam went home that night and looked up the stuff she'd sold the woman.  The woman had bought a set of dishes for 125 bucks the month before. Pam had been thrilled to make a hundred dollars profit.  The lady sold the tea pot alone for nearly $500. 

The next day--it was August--Pam had a heat stroke packing the flea market booth in an unaircondtioned cattle barn in Purcell, Oklahoma. But the day after that, she bought a digital camera and listed her first auctions.  It took about a year to become a Power Seller.

Don, the pop, was in the auto industry for about 35 years and the grocery business about 15 years before that.  He retired in June 2007 and is enjoying working full time in the eBay business.