Opportunities

eBay
Definition
Selling Personal Items on eBay
Resources
More to come...

Definition: 

• If you don’t know what eBay is, you’ve probably had very little experience on the Internet and frankly, I’m aghast that you actually found my little-old-website.  Well, congratulations – you’ve found a very resourceful and awesome site to hang-out on! 
  
  (And don’t feel too bad – the first time that I ever used eBay was a week before I wrote this.  In fact, my knowledge of eBay is quite limited, so please come back later to see my further research or sign up to my Newsletter.)
   

• On to eBay.  eBay is probably the largest Auction website on the Internet.  People go there to buy, sell and auction off new and used goods.  Individual people, companies and even charities use eBay to exchange either a product or service for cash. 
   

• Some people still think that eBay is merely an auction – it’s really a marketplace for anything you could ever imagine.  Some items you can simply buy outright, others you can put a bid in and hope that you win (or as I'm finding, use *tactics* to win).
   

• From what I’ve heard, people are actually making a living by buying goods directly from suppliers and selling them on eBay.  I heard a story of a guy over in Europe that goes around the world buying toys or gadgets in bulk from manufacturers and then sells them for a (major) profit on eBay.
   

• I’ve also heard that some people are so good at spotting deals that they actually buy things on eBay and then turn them around immediately and sell them back for a profit. 

My First Experience of Selling a personal item on eBay:

• In order to try my luck with eBay, I walked around my house, looked through my closets and finally found an unused Sony player that I’ve had for about 8 months.  (My father-in-law got it free with a credit card and passed it my way).  I thought that it might be worth something, so I went onto eBay and typed in the product code to see if anyone else was selling one.
   

• To My surprise, there were tons of them and they were fetching around £50-£60 ($80-$90).  My eyes lit up and I felt a bit of excitement tingle in my tummy – perhaps I can fund my little research project (i.e. unemployment) by selling goods on eBay!
   

• The first thing I did was find the exact same Sony player for sale and wrote down everything the seller wrote – even the price for postage and shipping (Otherwise I would have had to go to the post office to get it weighed and that’s taking time away from earning my living!)
   

• I then went to eBay and watched a short little presentation on becoming a seller (yes, I am that sad) and then entered the ‘Seller’ section.  It was quite painless…just asking for your usual contact, credit card and bank account details.  There were about three screens to fill out and a Direct Debit Mandate to print, sign and post.  Thereafter, I had my account name and password and was ready to auction off my Sony player immediately.
   

• Fortunately, I already have a digital camera and I must say that I love my camera more than anything.  If you don’t have a digital camera, you can take regular photo’s but you’ll have to wait to get them developed and then mess around with a bloody scanner (scanners really bother me!).  A digital camera will be worth it’s weight in gold if you’re going to sell products on the Web.

  • If you're going to buy a digital camera make sure that you find one with a battery re-charger and get the longest lasting battery - you wouldn't believe how much energy those digital babies suck.
     

• Being all professional, I took the Sony player out of the box, arranged the various items nicely on a tabletop and took a photo…Err, actually I took 10 just to make sure that I caught the display from the right angle and made proper use of the lighting. (It was my first time!!!).
   

• Thereafter, I logged into my account, specified that I wanted to sell and started following the instructions.  I had to write a little title and product description. 

  • Again, I went to the manufacturers’ website and *borrowed* their text – why recreate the wheel?  eBay give you a few handy tips on how to make your text bold, underlined and larger.  It’s worth the small amount of time it takes to make your ad look good.  You then have to add your picture which takes 2 seconds.  There are a few more questions on shipping, insurance and how you want your goods displayed.  Anyone who takes their time following along can figure it out.
     

• When my husband came home, I was so pleased to show him my listing on eBay, however it was a bit scary to see that the only bid I received was for £1.00.  Yikes!  Thankfully, the following day, the bids had taken the price up to £30 and I decided to call my friends and family to let them know that I’m earning money!  The final bid eventually came to £52 and I was over the moon - How exciting is that!
   

• WARNING:  Selling on eBay causes you to look at your possession and household contents in a whole different way.  Whenever I view an item I don't really use or something that isn't pertinent to have, I question its worth and what it might fetch.  My blender is not a blender anymore - I see pounds signs ...perhaps £15 - £20?  I even caught myself rummaging through my mothers house trying to get her to donate to my cause. 

Resources

• There are several eBooks out there on eBay; however I haven't yet read any.  If an author would like to donate one of their eBay eBooks to me, I would happily read it and write a review.  (But be warned, I will write my honest opinion...)

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