eBay Review

I have been an ebayer for about 5 years - started at first with just a few odds and ends and then moved to more items, almost monthly.  Finally decided to open a store: sweetcindylou62.  I mostly sell vintage finds, hand crafted jewelry, good buys I find to pass along, crafting supplies and whatever else piques my interest!

By and large, eBay is easy to use.  Or maybe it just seems like it because I have been doing it awhile.  I enjoy it for the most part.  I get a bit frustrated at times for a couple of reasons.  Just as I do when I shop, I look for the bargains, but it seems that unless you just about give stuff away folks just don't want to do business with you.  I try to treat others like I would like to be treated, personally and business-wise, but there are some folks on ebay that don't want to do so.  That is sad because a couple fouled transactions can cause you to be jaded.

Another frustration is the glut of items making it hard to find what you want or to sell what you have - you have to be pretty good at classifying things into categories to get the exposure you hope to.  Don't get me wrong - overall I am a fan of ebay and enjoy interacting with others as a result of transactions.  I have met a few really nice people that I still correspond with.

I found opening a store fairly reasonable -for the "small one" it is $15.95 a month plus listing/final valuation fees - these are nominal compared to auction fees, which can add up if you are placing low dollar items.  I tend to probably start my auctions a bit too low and don't really clear any money to speak of on at least half of my transactions.  To me, the enjoyment comes from hunting at estate/yard sales and junk stores and finding a match between my finds and a new owner.  It is also wonderful that you can purchase your postage with links to Paypal, thus eliminating a trip to the post office and you can do your part to keep the US Postal Service in business!

I would recommend ebay, but if you have some frustration - read some of the articles/education pieces online and try, try again - you will likely end up having a good experience.