As kids, brothers Michael and David Inouye and friend Tony Yamada would wheel-and-deal their favorite sports cards with the hopes of making a small profit.

The three quickly realized that there could be some money in collectible card sales and decided to go into business together. In 1999, each invested $3,000 and formed World Business Network, which does business as Ideal Collectables.

The three had no business background. After all, Michael was just 16, his brother 18 and Yamada in his early 20s.

But youth was a plus because the three knew what kids liked and they began buying items, such as Pokemon cards, on eBay and reselling them. Business, particularly transactions done through the Internet, began to boom and Ideal Collectables became profitable beyond their imagination.

The company has about 15,000 items in its inventory, from 25-cent cards to items worth thousands of dollars. Ideal Collectables also sells games, toys and other merchandise aimed at children and young adults.

Inouye said Ideal Collectables averages about 50 Internet orders and 30 eBay sales each day, with volume more than doubling during the holidays. Since 1999, the company has made 25,000 eBay transactions with 18,000 customers, he said.

Last year Ideal Collectables did about $2.2 million in sales, up from $1.8 million in 2004. The U.S. Small Business Administration this year recognized the success of the company by naming the Inouyes and Yamada as the "Young Entrepreneurs of the Year."

"It was all learning on the fly," said Michael Inouye, 24. "Our main focus was buying and reselling items. You buy an item for $50 and you resell it for $65 and you made $15. But what's not factored into that is the employees that you have to pay and the rent and everything like that. After a while you learn about things like that."

They also learned that the Internet would allow the company to sell their items worldwide, not just in Hawai'i. They targeted kids and advertised in game magazines that directed readers to Ideal Collectables' Web site.

Inouye confessed that the Web site flopped at first, but was revamped and now gets about a million hits a day. The Web site has been responsible for about 70,000 orders, Inouye said.

Keeping up with what's popular among the youth is a day-to-day challenge, Inouye said. One day it's Pokemon and the next it's Yugioh and Naruto.

The company also must be competitive with other companies, since 95 percent of Ideal Collectables' sales are to the Mainland. Inouye said the firm has cut profit margins to increase volume and that seems to have worked.

"We try to compete to the point where it would be a smarter choice to choose us over the Mainland companies because we have better service and we get you the product fast and you get better pricing," Inouye said. "It's human nature. You don't like to lose."

Inouye said he and his brother inherited their entrepreneurial spirit from their parents, both small-business owners. John Inouye owned a collectible card shop and mother Mei owns Lin's Canton Chinese restaurant in Liliha. "We would ask our parents for advice and Tony would ask his parents. But even to this day we are still learning," Inouye said.

It was at their father's store that the brothers met Yamada, who was a regular customer and had been buying and selling cards since he was 12. The Inouye boys, both McKinley High School graduates, and Yamada, a Saint Louis graduate, became good friends and eventually started talking about launching their own business.

David has been "excused" from the company for two years while he teaches in Japan. Yamada this week was taking some time off to celebrate his wedding anniversary, leaving the business in the hands of the youngest partner.

Two years ago Ideal Collectables moved from a small office in Wai'alae to a second-story space on Sand Island Access Road. The office is jammed with cards, games, accessories, toys and other items waiting to be ordered and shipped.

Inouye said he and his partners are always looking for new items and keeping up with what's hot among the youth. All three speak Japanese and make regular trips to Japan to meet with clients, collectors and sources.

"Before Pokemon was the big thing, but if we stuck with that we would have died," he said. "This is what our business is now and we're looking for other ventures because we realize that one day, although the market isn't going to disappear, it just might get a little bit slower."

Inouye said there is no secret to the company's success.

"We worked as hard as we could. If you're going to do something, you might as well give it your best," he said. "You work hard, you play hard and you enjoy life. That's something that we were always taught."

Reach Curtis Lum at culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.