Life With eBay Sellers

Have you ever talked to eBay sellers? Have you done it on a regular basis? I did. I talked to about 150 eBay sellers every week for the past year and a half.

I learned that there are many different types of people who sell on eBay, and they do it for various reasons. First of all, just about anyone can sell on eBay, as Weird Al says, it is the "world wide garage sale."

There are the "cleaning out the closet" sellers, but then there are groups of sellers who have found a way to move large amounts of product on a consistent basis. These sellers are often retired people, who found a niche in resale. Larger companies often set up eBay accounts to liquidate product. People looking for alternative income often start selling and end up being so successful that they turn eBay selling into a full time job.

The politics of an eBay seller vary, from right wing conservative, to bleeding liberal and then to the passive, "I don't care," mentality. EBay sellers are men and women, young and old, wealthy and not-so wealthy. Having grown up attending flea markets, including the famous San Jose Flea Market, I find eBay to be very similar. It is a true marketplace that levels the playing field for anyone with enough know-how and ambition.

You can walk into the market with $30 worth of goods, sell and walk out with $300, if you know how to do it. (If you're selling cell phones, these numbers can improve.) There is money to be made as an eBay seller.

Books, seminars and I'm sure even mentors, can help you become a successful seller if you want. These people want to make money, but they also want to make their customers happy, and this trait, I found to be genuine in most of the sellers I talked to. They were willing to go the extra mile for the customer and they took pride in it. I tip my hat to the eBay sellers I have had the privilege of meeting.

Ring in the New Year

I remember the end of 2005 and 2006, talking to eBay sellers. In November, they were busy, and by December, they were super busy. December seems to be the time of year when eBay sellers operate like a well-oiled machine. It's the time of year when the biological clock sends signals to the body, saying, "Let's get this baby out. It's time to deliver!"

One would think this would be a hard time of year to talk to an eBay seller. One would think the busy eBay seller would be too busy until the lull of the first quarter. This, I found was not the case. When I tried talking to eBay sellers during November and December, the majority of them, though busy, were strangely available. Sure, there was a great deal of audible chaos on the other end of the phone, but the seller sounded oddly clear and more focused. I call this phenomenon, "Fourth Quarter Zen," a state of being in which a seller is so busy, and is working so hard, that everything they touch becomes gold. Every decision they make takes them in a productive direction. They are not nescecarily aware of it, but this refining time is what they have worked so hard for all year. This is their moment of truth.

Now, I should mention that I personally favor the holiday of winter solstice, which falls on December 21, and is the shortest day of the year. No one really buys presents for anyone with this holiday, but I still marvel at the mass amount of buying power the forth quarter imposes upon people. I am even more impressed by eBay seller's ability to deliver in this time of year. So, now that the major holiday season is nearly over, I hope this next year brings you prosperity and that you use Q1 to plan how to grow your business to make Q4 2007 a utopia!

Adventures on eBay's Blog

On the saveoaks website, there's a picture of a child standing in the Oak Grove that is in danger. Next to her is a cardboard sign that reads: "Mommy, what were trees like?" I think there is room for all of us in this debate. Tech wise, we've reached a point to where the next generation may never die. (As in, we have the technology to keep people alive forever.) Which beggs the question, is death a natural part of life, or is it like a desease, aimed at gross extermination.

If we could all live on earth forever, we still need trees, oceans with temperatures that won't kill the animals that live in them and clean air to breathe.

I believe a lot of the change we want to see in the world comes from within. It's easy to blame a corperation or even capitolism and walk a way, saying, "there, I did my part." However if we don't teach eachother that the enviornment is something of value, that open spaces are being threatened, and that we are all harming the globe and will make ourselves extinct if these shadows remain unchanged, then we are kidding ourselves. We are pretending that glaciers aren't melting at an alarming rate. We are pretending that we don't need clean air to breathe. We have forgotten what it is like to stand in a natural growth forrest and just exist. And it would be a shame if our great great grandchildren stand in the last protected park on Earth, staring at a battered, weed of a tree and feel no shame and no pitty, and no sence of wonder or connection to the plannet some once called home.

It's too late to point fingers. We need to change what is happening. The approach needs to be holistic. It can not simply be a "Change One Thing" approach. It has to focus on many things. We need to eat healthy. We need to protect the envoirnment. We need to be aware of the effect we have on others every moment. We listen to what people are really saying. We need to help those who are in need of it. We need to donate what we do not use. We need to spend less. We need to be aware and responsive to the needs of others. And, yes... we need to facilitate the value of these things to our children. Children instinctivley know these values, but we dim them by taking them to McDonald's every week, by watching the same television networks, by only reading one part of the newspaper, (only reading one newspaper), by buying organic food but letting it rot on the counter, by telling them the enviornment is important, but never taking any action to save it

Tips for eBay Sellers

In reading many of the recently posted blogs on eBay, I've seen many sellers with less than 100 feedbacks asking the same question: "HOW DO I SELL MORE?" These sellers are clearly trying to compeete in a fast-paced online market place, and the money is there. However, for whatever reason, these sellers aren't attracting the right buyers. Here are some suggestions for sellers. (While my own feedback is only 26, I've spent the last year and a half talking with thousands of eBay sellers and studying their auctions, (these are my credentials).

hotos are one of the first and most important things to consider. Be sure to list your photos in the gallery. RULE 1: If you're photo doesn't show off your product, take one that does. Make your product shine in the picture, it's worth a thousand feedbacks. Take a close up picture of your item, no one likes to see a picture of an item, and find themselves looking at your messy living room in the background. (They may end up more interested in your life size elvis painting above tv, as opposed to the Mint 1960's Golf Bag you're trying to sell.)

RULE 2: If your item is expensive, list several different, flattering pictures of your item.

RULE 3: Get a nice solid piece of black or red velvet from your local fabric store and drape it over some couch pillows. Then lay your smaller items on the blanket, and frame your picture so that only your item and the velvet shows. (This avoids any distracting backgrounds.)

RULE 4: Light your item with 2 or more lights (You can use cheap painter lights from the hardware store. Put one light on each side to eliminate shadows.)

RULE 5: Market to your audience. Tell people reading your auction, why they should bid on your product. Why they can't live without the Samurai sword. How they need your product and what they will loose if they don't win your product. The description column is there for a reson. Use it.

Make readers believe. Be a rainmaker. You can do it!