This page documents the origins of WebGraphicsRus. The dealer tools once hosted here are no longer active.

WebGraphicsRus did not begin as a planned business venture. It emerged during a period of uncertainty, loss, and unexpected redirection in my life and career.

In 1991, I founded C Jay’s Custom Auto Accessories, a wholesale and retail business supplying electronic accessories to new and used car dealers throughout the Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware region. We specialized in car audio, security systems, remote starts, cruise controls, and dealer-installed accessories—anything a dealership might want to offer its customers. By the mid-1990s, the business was doing well, and in 1997 I made a conscious decision to stop working with less reputable accounts. It was an ethical choice, and at the time, the right one.

Shortly after, the landscape changed dramatically. Large national retailers expanded aggressively into the automotive electronics space. When companies like Best Buy and Circuit City began leveraging their buying power, small independent dealers were squeezed out of inventory access and pricing parity. A major purchase of Sony equipment—intended to stabilize supply and meet dealership demand—turned into a financial blow when big chains dropped retail prices below my wholesale cost. By the summer of 1999, the losses were significant.

Like many small business owners at the time, I began restructuring and looking for alternative paths forward. One of those paths was eBay.

Early eBay was different—personal, direct, and surprisingly global. I began selling excess inventory and quickly found that I enjoyed the process. It allowed me to connect with buyers around the world, and over time I became a Power Seller. I started to see the internet not just as a marketplace, but as a tool—one that rewarded clarity, presentation, and trust.

In September of 2001, I was preparing to launch an e-commerce site to support that direction. Advertising was scheduled to begin in October to capture the holiday season. Then September 11th happened.

Like so many others, I watched the events of that day unfold in disbelief. Business stopped—not just slowed, but stopped. People weren’t shopping. They were worried, grieving, and uncertain. The momentum I had been building vanished overnight.

Around that same time, a close friend of mine was facing financial pressure and needed to sell several collector vehicles. He asked me to help. I created a detailed online listing, took professional photographs, and handled the sale through eBay. It wasn’t intended to become anything more than helping a friend through a difficult moment.

While still doing occasional accessory installations for dealers, I showed that listing to the general manager of my local Infiniti dealership—not as a pitch, just because it was a beautiful car and a well-done presentation. He looked at it for a moment and said something that changed everything:

“You did this? We need this.”

That moment was the beginning of WebGraphicsRus.

What followed wasn’t a carefully plotted business expansion—it was something that felt placed in front of me at a time when I was struggling, searching for direction, and trying to rebuild. I began photographing vehicles for dealers, creating online ads, and helping them present inventory in a way that actually worked. Many of these same dealers had been spending thousands on technology without selling cars. What they needed wasn’t more software—it was clarity, simplicity, and effective presentation.

WebGraphicsRus was created on October 26, 2001, not because I planned to start a web company, but because the work was there, the need was real, and the door opened when I needed it most. Over time, this led to custom tools, dealer-focused software, and eventually the development of eMaxAds—but it all started with one listing, one conversation, and a willingness to help.

Looking back, I don’t see WebGraphicsRus as something I chased. I see it as something that was laid in my path—by circumstance, by timing, and, I believe, by God—during a period when I was being forced to let go of one chapter and trust that another would unfold.

This page exists to preserve that history.