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?

How to Save Money by Not Buying Crap June 14, 2008

This seems so simple, really.  You walk into a store – maybe you have a certain goal in mind or maybe you’re just browsing, when all of a sudden something catches your eye.  You look at it and think, “I never even knew something like this existed!  I could use this to….”

And that’s where you make a terrible mistake.

It’s not something you ever knew you wanted, but all of a sudden you’re in the store and it’s in front of you, and it’s all you can think about.  You could, if you wanted (and assuming you have cash or a credit card handy), take this object of your here & now desire home with you this very day.  Fast forward 6 months later and you’ll find this object either (1) still in the original packaging/still with the original tags, untouched or (2) shattered to pieces/torn to shreds because it was poorly made in the first place.

Long uninteresting story, but today (unintentionally and for 2 hours) I found myself stuck at a craft/antiques store with a lot of - well – crap.  Old trinkets, outdated gadgets, stuff stuff stuff just waiting for their next unsuspecting victim.  I almost gave in on a couple of occasions – after all, who wants to feel as though their 2 hours at a store were completely in vain?  I resisted though, and you know what?  I actually felt better for not having anything to show for my time “shopping,” as though I have very high standards (maybe I do?) and this stuff just wasn’t worthy of my money.

In thinking about the situation (and I had a lot of time to think), here were some of the questions I forced myself to ask:

• Will I, without making a drastic change in my lifestyle, actually use this item?  Think about it – will the number of times I use this item and/or the amount of joy produced by this item actually be worth it on a per use or per moment of happiness basis?
• Is this thing actually worth the price being asked or is this just someone trying to make a buck off of something that is actually just C-R-A-P?  At least one easy way to do this is to mentally link the phrases ”Made in China” with “Made with Lead Paint”.  Other suggestions?  Mentally link “[Insert Your Favorite Overpriced Brand Here]” with “Baby Seals Died For Your Enjoyment”… ok, I don’t know.
• Conversely, am I only buying this because it’s cheap?  Would I still buy this item if it were twice the price?  Quadruple the price?
• Have I done my research?  Am I sure this is the brand/model/color/features I want?  Can I get a better price elsewhere, and if so, is it worth it to own the item here and now versus waiting a week or two to shop around?  Sure, you can “always return it” but let’s face it – it’s easier (and cheaper, since you only stand to make out worse in the deal) if you just never bought it in the first place.
• Lastly, and only to be used in the most extreme cases:  if I were to disappear immediately following my shopping trip, would I be ok with my “Last Known Whereabouts” description reading:  ”Last seen buying a 75% off plastic lawn gnome and discontinued ‘reduced for quick sale’ ground beef from Aldi’s on Route 90″?

This sounds so easy, but it isn’t.  I know!  I’ve been there.  The albino squirrel taxidermy “art” was easy to resist, but there were others that weren’t so easy.  Really think about your purchases though, and hey, if all else fails and you ended up buying that lime green parka only to regret it 3 weeks later, you can always return it.