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 Paul Latta of Stress Dynamics who found magic in a book called "The Sword of Aradel."
Dear Ina,
I love the AuctionBytes Newsletter and I especially love the new First Item Sold Online feature. I'd like to share my story with you.
My lovely wife and I love to go yard sailing and attending flea markets. We are not collectors of much of anything, however there are certain first edition books I have on my "Holy Grail" list. One day we were at a local flea market and one of the vendors had a huge box of books that were all jumbled together. As my lovely wife was busy looking elsewhere, I decided to rummage through the chaotic collection. After a few minutes of digging I came across a children's book by Alexander Key. The book was called "The Sword of Aradel." I had never heard of it, but I had heard of Mr. Key as he was the author of one of my favorite childhood books: "Escape to Witch Mountain." I opened the cover and found it was a 1st edition. I looked on the back, and sure enough, the list of books penned by the author included my beloved "Escape to Witch Mountain." For a mere 50 cents I acquired the book, which was in pristine shape.
Like I said, I'm not much of a collector, so after reading it (letting loose the 12-year-old inside), I posted it on eBay expecting to get a few dollars for it. Lo and behold a bidding war erupted and it sold for $85.00. I was hooked! I've had other great success stories in those early years as well, but this was my first. As eBay has grown, a lot of that early magic has evaporated, but I still keep my eyes open for truly unique and different items that might do as well.
Thanks for all the great info you publish.
Sincerely,
Paul Latta, Webmaster - Stress Dynamics
http://www.StressDynamics.com
PS: If you publish this would you please add a link to my lovely wife's website. Thanks for reading.
Discover a world of relaxation at http://www.StressDynamics.com - your home for great stress reducing products, books, recordings, aromatherapy and more!
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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