Off-Topic: Selling my wares on Ebay June 25, 2008

Sorry I’ve been away.  Sorry to both of my loyal followers (thanks Mom & Grandma).  I’ve been busy trying to get rid of my stuff on the garage sale of the information superhighway, otherwise known as Ebay.  Not the porcelain doll you gave me for Christmas though, Grandma!  I will keep that for always.

Folks (mom and Grandma), Ebay ain’t what it used to be.  Previously, you could sell any old thing on this fabulous website without needing to know a thing about it.  Buyers were flocking to the site in search of a good deal, looking for things like ‘1976 alien ashtray’ or ‘used Palmolive dish soap’ – there was little marketing, gimmicks, or internet salesmanship required.  In a 2-month span in 2004 when I was unemployed, I made enough money to live off of, just by selling the stuff I already owned to ravenous buyers in search of a good deal.

Now, however, the buying public has come to expect too much.  Online giants like Buy.com have joined the ranks, and sooner or later, Ebay will become just another website that helps you spend your hard-earned cash without any chance of snagging a good deal.  Let me start off by saying that out of 450+ transactions, I have received 2 negative feedback comments - one from a guy who never shipped my stuff (and gave ME a negative), and one from a Canuck that didn’t get their $5.99 book from me (after I faithfully shipped it using USPS) and was unhappy that I “only” refunded the entire purchase price plus half the shipping cost.  Other than that, I’ve done pretty well feedback-wise as both a buyer and seller.

I currently have about 30 auctions listed, rotating through some 1st edition books and other items I’ve accumulated.  It’s relatively cheap stuff as far as auctions go (not quality-wise) – everything I sell is less than $15 plus shipping.

I cannot even begin to describe the questions I get from idiotic buyers, but I’ll try.

• You mentioned in your listing that the zipper is slightly “stuck” when you try to zip it up, but that it still works just fine - can you send me a video of you zipping and unzipping the [$8.50 name brand] down vest you’re selling?
• Just wondering if you can tell me how many color illustrations are in this [550 page illustrated] book?  You mentioned that there’s at least 1 illustration on every page, but I want to know exactly how many.  Thanks.
• [Background:  Person bids on item Day 2 of auction for $25 (including shipping), emails me Day 4]  Hello, I wanted to know if you’d end your auction now and sell me this item for $20, shipping included?
• Why $6 [shipping] to Canada?  I want this [$2 coffee mug], but not at that price!
• Hello [my Ebay username], Sir.  We see your auction and thought you might be interested in knowing that you can to purchase the items wholesale at [sketch-O website] and sell them to customers anywhere in the global.  Just kind regards to fill out the online form and send us a money order for the price initiated, and we then will ship your items complete to your customers without any further actions needed from you…

The thing is, I have faithfully answered every single one of these dumbass questions (declining the video portion of the “zipper” question and instead offering a more descriptive verbal illustration and marking the last question as “Spam” in my inbox)… but not ONE of the above mentioned culprits have actually bid on my items.  I’m friendly, I’m honest (including the history of where I acquired the item), I use Auctiva so I can list my items with multiple pictures free of charge, I sell things at prices I consider very reasonable (again, less than $15), AND I sell things that I personally think are worthwhile (mostly, new or like new clothes from reputable manufacturers or vintage/antique books from notable authors).  Why are people willing to shell out half their paychecks at cheap quality Christmas Tree “Made in China” Shops or Big Lots “of Crap” and not buy used, older, Already Manufactured And Not To Be Replaced on the Store Shelves Immediately items instead?  I will never understand.

On top of all of this, Ebay has upped their already-substantial fees.  I won’t get into the details of this (check out any of the Ebay forums if you’re truly interested), but basically you can list items at a cheaper price (a.k.a., more crap available), but Ebay takes a bigger cut out of the items that actually sell (a.k.a., getting punished if you’re offering items that people actually want to buy).  Add in the cut that Paypal takes, and it’s increasingly harder to make any money off the “retail website that’s changing the face of the economy,” as it was previously called.

At times I wish I were smart enough to create my very own Ebay website, where I would personally get to pre-approve every item that was auctioned off; though if I did, I’d probably be sued for copyright infringement and end up writing a blog about my time in prison.  On second thought….. I know I’d lose my core demographic (mom & Grandma), but maybe gain a whole new following of readers….?  Any other casual Ebay sellers out there?  What are your thoughts?

Off-Topic: What to do with my old Nalgene bottles? June 8, 2008

Everyone has no doubt heard about the latest everyday product that is supposedly doing more harm than good:  that seemingly innocuous, colorful plastic water container we have all come to know as a Nalgene bottle.  While maintaining that their bottles are safe for use, Nalgene still ended up ”phasing out” products containing BPA (any of their bottles with a 7 on the bottom) and the consumer public has begun their quest for a suitable replacement.  Feeling good about choosing a reusable container for my water instead of the “evil” plastic water bottles went straight down the gutter, but at least now I have something upon which to blame those extra few pounds!

A quick search of terms like “what to do with your Nalgene bottle” reveals that many people have the same question as me, but as far as I can surmise, nobody has come up with a suitable answer.  Recycling doesn’t seem to be an option, not being able to use the bottles with food items limits things a bit, and they’re not exactly beautiful enough to display on the mantel (as is, anyway).  One group suggested sending the used bottles to the companies who manufacture these products, to “teach them a lesson” that they need to figure out what to do with them.  Great idea!  Think of all those big, energy-guzzling airplanes hauling your stuff halfway across the country just so you can exact your maniacal revenge on a company that has neither the time nor the money to deal with the problem.

I’ve personally accumulated 3 of these now-deadly bottles and I’m stuck with them.  The media hype about BPA won’t allow me to just toss them into the garbage can and move on with my life, plus to be honest, I like the idea of “repurposing” things into something else.  Since I don’t want this post to end up as just another question with no answer piece, here are my suggestions:

• Use them as a rain gauge.  Who doesn’t want to be the guy with the answer when someone wonders aloud, “I wonder how much rain we got last night…”  They already have the convenient liquid measurements on the side.
• Use them as a container for beads, coins, pens, or anything else small enough to fit inside (except edible items, as noted previously).  Wow, this is easier than I thought.
• Turn them into lanterns using the LightCap 200, manufactured by SolLight.  Too expensive for me at $19.95 each, but these could make… er, campy deck lights if you were so inclined.
• Drill a hole into the cap, put some scraps of food and dirt inside, and turn them into the coolest ant condo anyone has ever seen.
• Gather up a whole bunch (ask your friends, family, and neighbors for help), then weld them into some life-sized avant garde sculpture for your living room, back yard, porch, or anywhere with enough space to fit the sculpture really.  Ugh, unfortunately, I’m pretty sure someone will do this, and will not see the humor in it.

So, those are about it really.  My actual solution?  For now, put them on a shelf in the garage and hope they disintegrate on their own.  In the meantime, I’m thinking about buying one of the fancy Sigg bottles.  Comments?

My point. June 5, 2008

And there is one.

I’m a lifelong spendthrift at heart…. but I have a serious love for quality and luxury.  These things usually don’t go hand in hand, so I am instead very judicious over what I’ll splurge versus save on.  And thus begins… my blog.