Judi Henderson is in the body parts business. Arms, legs, a torso or even a head are for sale through Henderson’s eBay business. A quick tour of her Bay Area home reveals a virtual body part emporium that she sells and ships around the world to the highest bidder.

Now before you get on the phone and call the authorities, keep in mind these body parts are probably destined for showroom floors or store front windows - not a house of horrors.

For the past several years, Henderson has parlayed a part-time mannequin sales business into a full-time operation - thanks to the power of eBay and the convenience of UPS shipping technology.

The Problem:

Henderson began renting mannequins on the side after a company specializing in mannequin rental closed their doors. “I just thought the Bay Area needed at least one mannequin rental company,” she said.

Henderson’s venture would soon turn into a full time business when the dot-com company she was working for closed its doors. As her mannequin inventory increased from 50 to more than 500 mannequins, she launched a Web site and started posting on eBay. Henderson quickly realized she needed help to make a go at her new business - appropriately named “Mannequin Madness.”

The Solution:

With shipments being sent across the United States and Canada, Henderson began using the UPS.com Web site because it was so easy to use that it helped her simplify her shipping. Basing her decision to ship with UPS on UPS’s reputation for reliable ground shipping, Henderson soon found herself looking for further tools to assist her in running the business.

That search came to end recently, thanks to a conversation with a UPS representative at a local Chamber of Commerce meeting. Listening to Henderson’s concerns and needs, the UPS representative introduced Henderson to WorldShip technology, software that takes the guesswork out of shipping around the world.

“Everything I need to ship is right there in Worldship,” she said. WorldShip has provided Henderson with the shipping efficiency she needs to achieve her status as a Bronze level eBay PowerSeller. “I wouldn’t have a business if I couldn’t ship. I wouldn’t have a business if it weren’t for UPS.”

Worldship allows high volume sellers like Henderson to process their packages more efficiently, managing all their shipping activities from their desktop using the full portfolio of UPS shipping services.

Besides allowing Henderson to print shipping labels directly from her desktop, WorldShip allows both the buyer and seller to track their packages online - eliminating the “where’s my package?” question for both sides.

If Henderson has to ship outside the United States, Worldship takes the guess work out of shipping internationally.

Henderson is now experimenting with the eBay Accounting Assistant Beta to export her eBay and PayPal transaction fees into her QuickBooks accounting software. Thanks to the connectivity between eBay, QuickBooks and UPS, Henderson can use the information related to her eBay transactions to streamline accounting and shipping tasks.

The process saves Henderson time and allows her to evenly focus on her business, which is one-third Web-based, one-third eBay-based and one-third local sales.

The capabilities that UPS provides, shipping through the UPS.com Web site, WorldShip, or shipping directly from eBay or QuickBooks, has achieved for Henderson what she originally set out to accomplish - making her business, and life, run more smoothly.