My ebay 10th Anniversary

[disneysteve]

I registered for ebay on May 15, 1997, 10 years ago today.

My first sale was a pre-opening commemorative guide to Disney-MGM Studios Theme Park which I think went for about $17.00. My most recent sale was 2 days ago for a lot of 50 promotional pens for $15.50 to a woman in England. Along the way, I've logged sales to every state and most major countries.

My best month I had sales of just over $2,600. My best year I had sales of over $13,000.

For a few months in 2000, I did ebay full-time after leaving my old job.

At my peak, I was running 100 active auctions at all times. Back then, auctions ran for 10 days and I would list 10 new items every day.

I currently sell pretty casually, 16 listings in the last 60 days, and that was after a very extended period of not selling at all. I just started back recently, but I'm looking forward to many more years of active selling.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

I wonder if there is a Hallmark card for this occasion.

I don't know when I registered with ebay, but I see my frst rated transaction was June 8, '98. I've never sold on ebay. My last rating was given in May '05. No one ever gives me a rating anymore. I'm not a bigtime buyer, but I do use ebay a few times a year. Mostly for books, music instruments, old cameras, lenses and photo stuff.

My few online sales have been items for homeschooling. That was through a non-profit website, which seems to have declined in quality in the years since I stopped using it. Used to buy from other individuals there, too. It was vegsource.com, if anyone is interested.

[Tree0164]

That's great. I never really got into the ebay thing. I know Jeff who runs this site has been very successful in making some money doing it.

I think if you got a good niche you can do well on it.

[creditcardfree]

Wow...I don't think I realized it had been around that long!! Time is going to quickly for me. Congrats on your success!

Looks like I've been a member since late 2001. I've only recently started selling and only purchased a few things before that. I've netted almost $100 in the last month, just selling things around the house...its getting addictive. I have plenty more to sell, too.

[My English Castle]

Ebay always best?

Congrats to Disney Steve.
How and where do you store all that inventory?
Do you have any tips for us mere mortals?
Do you set aside a time every day for this or try to fit it in when you can?

And do you ever use another site or even a local Craigslist?

[disneysteve]

Wow...I don't think I realized it had been around that long!!

Ebay started in September 1995. The founder started it as a way for his girlfriend to collect PEZ dispensers.

[disneysteve]

How and where do you store all that inventory?
Do you have any tips for us mere mortals?
Do you set aside a time every day for this or try to fit it in when you can?

And do you ever use another site or even a local Craigslist?

I never sell anywhere but ebay. I think that is where the vast majority of buyers are. Yes, the fees are higher but I think the returns are greater.

I store inventory primarily in our basement. There is a bunch of stuff in the garage, also. For the most part, I no longer buy items to resell, though if I see something at a yard sale, I'll still pick it up. When I was doing ebay regularly, I would go out on shopping excursions to yard sales, flea markets and auctions specifically to buy things to resell. That was when I was running 100 auctions. Now I generally run 2-4 auctions at a time and I've got zillions of items around the house to keep me busy at that rate.