KEH Stories: Mark Escher

Every employee here at KEH has a story to tell and it’s our job to share it with you  – our customers! We are excited to re-launch KEH Stories, to give you an inside look to learn more about the KEH Camera team. Check out #KEHSpotlight each month where we’ll be showcasing new team members.  This month we interviewed Mark Escher!

How long have you been a KEH employee?

March 26^th it will be 6 years.

What excites you most about working at KEH?

Being part of the team that makes this machine run well.

What is your role(s)?

I lead the eBay department.

Why is KEH a great place to work?

Being a photographer, I like having all this photography equipment around me.  The culture here is great also with the many fun things we do together.  Chili cook-offs, pie bake-offs, food trucks, ice cream trucks, holiday parties, cookouts…and don’t forget the donuts!  Working in eBay rarely does a day go by where I don’t see a piece of equipment I’ve never seen before.

What’s special about the customer experience at KEH?

The buying end of the business and the customer being a part of that.  Buying is the hard part of this business.  Once we have it, we can sell it.

How does your role at KEH help support our vision/mission?

eBay shines at selling AS/IS and UGLY equipment. eBay customers are looking for a deal and by purchasing the lower end stuff, they get it cheap. The audience is also much larger than KEH.com, so finding a buyer for hard to sell stuff is easier. We also photograph everything that is listed so the customer sees exactly what they are getting. Currently, we have 4400 listings that help with the overall success of KEH!

Are you a photographer? What is your style? How does being a photographer help you perform your role here?

I was a self-employed commercial/Industrial/advertising photographer for over 35 years and still shoot on the side. I have always enjoyed having an ad agency, design studio or architect hire me to photograph their product, service or people and pay me money to do so. I don’t shoot too many photos without being paid.  I had a studio in Mid-town Atlanta for 13 years, that I used to shoot everything from tiny fuses to cars.  Most of my career I shot transparency film…no digital back then.  I used Mamiya RB’s, Hasselblad’s, Arca Swiss and Sinar cameras. My favorite all time camera was my Hasselblad Superwide CM. All this time behind the camera has helped me identify equipment for KEH and the self-employed part makes me appreciate what it takes to run this place!

We had the honor of attending the PPA Award Ceremony at Imaging USA. You won an award there! Share with us how long you’ve been a member and what this award means to you?

The PPA (Professional Photographers of America) has been good to me my entire career and has contributed greatly to our industry. I’ve been a member for 36 years.  After many years of entering prints in competition, giving seminars and attending many of their programs, I was awarded their Photographic Craftsman degree in Nashville at Imaging USA in January.

Do you have other special talents or hobbies?

I’m a city boy that married, 40 years ago, a country girl.  So by default, I am a hobby farmer with 3 horses.  I enjoy the outside work taking care of the place.