Ebay, One User’s Experience In Getting Started

With over 22.5 million registered users and six million auctions taking place at any given time, eBay remains one of the biggest success stories on the Internet. There is no equivalent in the real world. Katherine Lukienchuk found eBay and now is buying and selling in cyberspace. I asked her to share her story with my readers. Here it is.

 

I am not a novice to the computer world, but I would never consider myself proficient other than working on word processors. My first exposure to the computer experience was a Vydek – the prehistoric precursor to today’s desktop computer. At the time, I was a legal secretary for the General Counsel of Southern Pacific Land Company, creating and editing 200-page lease agreements. Keeping up with the changes in the computer world naturally increased my basic awareness and knowledge.

I had never had a computer in my home until several years ago, when we purchased a Dell Pentium II Processor, 300 MHz, 64 MB memory. My husband chose the Dell computer after reading product reviews in numerous computer magazines. We ordered sight unseen over the phone, unpacked, and set it up following Dell’s instructions. The speakers did not work. Upon trying everything I could think of and talking with several of my computer-savvy friends, out of desperation, I called Dell technical support. After holding for several hours, I finally reached a burnt-out tech support person. The extremely condescending woman at the other end of the phone line was certain that I had overlooked something very basic. After an hour of step-by-step trouble-shooting, we finally concluded something had disconnected in the tower during the shipping. It took us far too long to discover the problem because disconnected wires from the motherboard are rare (much to the amazement of my cranky technician, who assumed she was dealing with a computer moron). Frankly, it was an intimidating process because of my lack of technical experience. However, once corrected, everything worked fine.

My introduction to eBay came as a suggestion from Bob. We had met to discuss creating a Web site to sell a product I had been developing and making for friends. Several had suggested I sell my product – eyeglass catchers made of semi-precious stones. While functional, they have the look and style of fine jewelry. Usually, eyeglass catchers are made of inexpensive plastic or glass beads. My creations contain a variety of stones such as lapis lazuli, coral, tourmaline, and freshwater pearls. Bob suggested I test the real world marketplace by establishing an account with eBay. This would serve as another venue for selling my eyewear accessories. My eBay profile would then link to a future Web site.

 

First Steps

I approached eBay cautiously. After three months of buying various small items, I wanted to try my hand at selling. The key was I had to sell an item that did not require a photograph. Graphics were a bit beyond my computer skills. My husband had four new truck tires he wanted to sell. I thought tires could be sold with only a description. With language from other successful tire sales, I listed them for seven days. Nothing happened. No nibbles, no questions. What a disappointment. Once the auction ended, eBay sent email asking if I would like to relist and included recommendations to help with selling. I followed their advice and added color to important words to add visual punch to the auction and the phrase “Excellent Buy” to the beginning of my opening sentence.

I relisted them for seven days. I specified that the sale would be final so all questions should be asked before bidding, and the buyer would pay for shipping. I received questions from people in Alabama, Colorado, Kentucky, Upstate New York, and Maine. The response was amazing and a lot of fun.

 

Shipping Tires

I had no idea how to ship tires, but I quickly learned. I first contacted freight companies but found UPS to be the least expensive way to go. I processed my zip code and the prospective buyer’s zip code through the UPS Web site to determine the cost. I weighed the tires and learned UPS would allow shipment in sets of two to stay beneath their maximum load requirement. For not using a box, they assess a $5 penalty fee but I could ship them by joining the tires with plastic tie wraps. After answering all of these questions from buyers, the final day of the auction arrived. The winning bidder lives in Maine and works for a trucking company with a terminal in Connecticut. The problem was solved with a short car ride.

And so the bug has bitten, and I am a die-hard eBay fan. This is the most entertaining and delightful site, and I cannot recommend it enough. I have described eBay to friends as being similar to the general store of the Wild West – everything you might imagine wanting or needing is for sale.

 

Learning HTML

Back to my Web site. I am currently taking a distance learning class through a satellite program offered by the School of Engineering at Fairfield University. My objective is to learn how to build and maintain my own Web site. For now, I will photograph my eyeglass catchers, placing the pictures on a floppy disk. I can then transfer them for use on my eBay auctions. Once the Web site is running, I will be able to advertise my site through my auctions on eBay. Eventually, I will invest in a digital camera to skip the photo-developing process altogether and load pictures directly into my computer. I plan to change from a dial-up modem to Internet cable to increase my connection speed. I am certain that this will add to my pleasure in using the Internet.

A word to the timid – don’t be! Just as you can not eat an elephant in one sitting, so it is with the world of new technology. It just requires taking one step at a time and the willingness to ask a lot of questions, as Bob can attest! A fascinating world awaits!

URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) of interest:

http://www.ebay.com

(This is the 250th of a series of elementary articles designed for surfing the Internet. Next, “Is Ginger IT?” is the subject on tap. Stay Tuned. Until next week, happy travels through cyberspace. Previous issues of Internet Info for Real People can be found: http://www.thebee.com. Please email comments and suggestions: rbrand@JUNO.com or editor@thebee.com.)