Do you remember the first item you ever sold online? Let us know by sending an email to ina@auctionbytes.com and we may publish your story. Today we hear from Robert O. Sachs about his first eBay experience.
What: I sold a number of Pepsi bottles, new, full/sealed, that had been produced for the opening of a local Memphis restaurant.
Why: The bottles were for the opening of the "Elvis Presley's Graceland" restaurant, on Beale Street in downtown Memphis. Pepsi logo on one side, "The King" on the other. I saw them in an Exxon gas station and bought 4 - 2 for my folks, 2 for myself. When I got home, I thought I'd look them up on this new site I'd found (eBay). Result: The bottles were selling for upwards of $15 each! I ultimately purchased 4 or 5 cases (I've forgotten the actual count) and still have three full cases after selling off the rest. Within 3 weeks, the bottles were no more to be found anywhere. And I was hooked on eBay!
Nearly 10 years later, I'm a Silver Powerseller, Trading Assistant, full-time eBay seller, and guest contributor to a number of eBay-related books and articles. I've sold everything from a $700 vacuum cleaner to a pair of mismatched color sandals (to be used for gardening, so the color was of no importance, I was told).
About the author:
Ina Steiner is co-founder and Editor of EcommerceBytes and AuctionBytes.com and has been reporting on ecommerce since 1999. She's a widely cited authority on marketplace selling and is author of "Turn eBay Data Into Dollars" (McGraw-Hill 2006). Her blog was featured in the book, "Blogging Heroes" (Wiley 2008). Follow her on Twitter at @auctionbytes and send news tips to ina@ecommercebytes.com.
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