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 two sellers who describe their first experiences selling online.

Hello Ina-
The first item I sold on eBay was an AutoCad Digitizer (drawing tablet), with a sixteen button puck (basically a mouse), that I had purchased for about $275, just before it more or less became obsolete. I had moved it around from closet to closet for 4 or 5 years, not wanting to get rid of it because of the cost. I was even holding it over an open garbage can at one point and thought, "No, It's unused and too good to just throw in the trash". About a year later I noticed others being sold on eBay, so I listed mine. It got bid up to $100.00 to my surprise by an architect in Canada, who was still able to put it to good use. That was better, obviously, than the garbage can.
Jarey Hendrickson, Washington State

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Ina,
I vividly remember the first item I sold online it was a DTS Audio CD of some artist I can't remember. I signed up for ebay, wrote a description about the item indicating your CD player must have DTS and while photographing the item with an old Kodak Digital camera- thought to myself- this isn't as easy as it looks. I put up the auction- and lo and behold got questions and a bid. It sold for about $15.00 and I shipped it out. A couple days later I got a terse email from the buyer stating that it didn't play on their CD player (because it didn't have DTS)- and if I didn't take it back- they would give me negative feedback. Being a newbie- I took the item back- refunded their payment- always thinking is this really going to be worth it? I relisted the item- and it sold for more. But I will never forget the challenge that has realized itself today of selling online- some 21,000 transactions later. Oh yes- the initial buyer gave me Positive feedback- "Excellent service! Very pleased with CD! Highly recommended! AAAA+++++" June 12, '01
Take care.
Richard Chemel
iSold it
Chatsworth, CA

NOTE: Don't worry if you haven't seen your story published yet. We've gotten a terrific response to this feature and we will get to all of them in due time. Thanks again to Brian Cohen (http://www.bidofthis.com) for coming up with the idea for this column, it's so much fun hearing about people's first experience selling online!
Ina