While the first, e2sale.com, is being positioned as an `exclusive auction site for unique products' by promoter Aditya Sarda, the second, waresindia.com, is touted to be `India's first online speciality store' by promoter and chief executive Prashant Sharma.

Boston University graduate Sarda heads the promoter firm, Tetris Infotech. It was floated in 1999 by the Calcutta-based jute and chemicals conglomerate, Sarda Group of Industries. With Tetris, the group has made its foray into IT and spent close to Rs 50 lakh in incubating e2sale and two other sites, including a jute industry vortal, which are in the pipeline.

E2sale has in its bazaar Indian arts, handicraft and antique articles from different states, marble and jute products, brassware, glassware, coins, stamps, books and paintings-Madhubani and Tanjore to begin with. It procures these directly from the manufacturers or the state emporia located in the capital.

It has also tied with a number of marble houses in Rajasthan and Kashmiri carpet and handicrafts makers, in addition to sourcing antique marble items from Rajasthan havelis.

It charges over five per cent commission from the suppliers for each item sold. Besides, advertising charges have to be paid for bold display and display with a picture. These products are auctioned under three categories. The site has also entered a tie-up with Indian railways to auction through its site the products seized by it.

Sarda is keen to put up a channel for imported vintage and classic cars and motorcycles. The site is keen to later broadbase its offering and include similar unique products from other countries also.

Interestingly, e2sale has bought over 500 fired Bofors shells of the Kargil war vintage through defence auctions and is selling these on the site marking the first anniversary of the war.

The empty shells are refurbished, polished and sold with or without a cart for over Rs 6,000. Besides these, there are other mementos like the shells of rocket launchers and hand missiles which are being refurbished. ``We intend to donate whatever proceeds we get to the Kargil War Widows Fund,'' said Sarda.

A bachelor of engineering from Pune and a London University MBA, Sharma has earlier imported Indian items and sold in London.That experience led him to work on a site to cater to what he calls a `big opportunity' overseas. Besides the foreign tourists, the site is also targeted at non-resident Indians who can order Indian speciality foods such Agra's petha online.

``I decided to set up such a store after seeing the tremendous interest generated in things Indian by the foreigners and NRIs who visit India,'' says Sharma. He has roped in Delhi socialite Livleen Sharma as the brand ambassador.

Having put up the site with a team of seven with a modest Rs 3 lakh investment, he is holding talks with two VCs and a India-specific large portal so that ``the site can receive the funding it requires to expand further'. It is not e-commerce enabled yet, but according to Sharma, ``the plan is ready and as soon as the funds are received, we will make it fully e-commerce enabled.''

There are 250 products under eight categories at present. Sharma too is talking to the state craft emporia for a regular sourcing tie-up.

Besides these two sites, there are at least a couple of other sites set to spring soon, in addition to the site of the Cottage Industries, all of them targeting their own niche.