Aubry the Pinrunner

Among the many magic moments of eBay Live! are those times when the music starts playing and eBay enthusiasts stream to the nearest eBay employee - who distribute the latest collectible eBay Live! pins or coins. As veteran eBay Live attendees will tell you, it's quite the feeding frenzy.

But ever wonder how the pins materialize in the booths or in the pockets of eBay staffers, ready to be given out to whoever asks for them? Well, now we can let you into the secret. We have proprietary technology that "beams" the pins to wherever we need them to be. Just kidding. In actual fact, a small and dedicated band of "pinrunners" stealthily delivers the pins and coins to the various booths some time before the music starts playing (we're not saying how much time before).

Somewhere in the labyrinthine innards of the convention center is a little room - let's call it Area 51 - where the pins and coins are assembled. Pinrunners emerge from this lair laden with heavy bags of pins (what's a pin weigh, you ask, but try hefting them in bags of thousands) and brave the eagle eyes of attendees on their way to delivering the pins to their destinations. Mission accomplished, our intrepid pinrunners stay back on the show floor to help distribute the pins when the time comes.

Here's a shout out to Aubry, shown here preparing to embark on her latest sortie. Go Pinrunners!