My 25 Years on eBay!

byannezarra

1.9K followers

1 year ago

I am celebrating 25 years on eBay TODAY! I've sold a lot of "junk-ana" as my dad would say. My mom always said I had a lot of stick-to-itiveness! And that's what you need to keep at it like I have!

I've sold so many things it's hard to know the exact number but probably in the 10's of thousands of items, some big like a sewing loom others small like a watch. Some items over and over and over like used (dead) tennis balls. The list of items I've sold is a whole other post or book. You wouldn't believe it!

I have tons of positive feedback as a result of my hard work, but only 1/3 of the people leave it, so it should be way higher than what I have: 11K+.

The dollar amount of what I've sold would probably be over 3/4 of a million $ (mostly part-time income). Not all mine: some to clients, some to the post office, probably 100K to USPS. (They do quite well because of the shipping of packages). I have used a lot of boxes and tape! I have taken packages with me on vacation, waiting for people to pay first, before shipping. Thanks to those who have saved packing for me over the years, Suzanne Bender-Van Spyk​!

My days of consignment sales are almost over since I have so many items of my own that I need to concentrate on - more Barbra Streisand stuff, movie, and sports memorabilia. But I will be selling some cool collectibles that are right up my alley and personal interest that are stored in plastic tubs in my basement. That will make everyone at my house happy!

I've taught eBay to others, but most have a hard time even listing one item. I am most proud that I have not given up. Listing and photographing and shipping every day. It is a grind, not glamorous at all. Sometimes it's more fun than other times. I am my own boss.

Thank goodness for digital photography and PayPal. There are a few flakey buyers out there, though not as many as people are fearful of. I have been scammed only a couple of times, which were reported and worked out in my favor. I've had only a few negative feedbacks, which were painful for someone like me, but keeping the customer happy for over twenty-five years is not easy to do.

Not every sale made a profit, but I moved on and listed more. I had a few people helping me over the years. Thank you, Chelsea ​ and Kristen​ , and Christopher (who said Auntie Anne you need to sell expensive small stuff to make money-he is right), but it's mostly been me! Kim has dropped off her share of packages and we've chased mail trucks to give them boxes that need to be scanned and go out that day!

I've had some awesome mail carriers like Marcus and a few others. Who even knows their mail carrier by name, much less have them say "love you" and invite you to their campsite to meet the family on vacation?

I've had the opportunity to go down to eBay headquarters and speak on a panel of sellers as well as meet the new hires and some of the eBay bigwigs. As long as eBay keeps in its own lane and doesn't try to be Amazon, things work much better.

So I am celebrating a major milestone in my eBay career. Twenty-five years. Wow! I call it a huge success!