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 Bettina Jordan, whose auction experience led her to create her own auction website!
My first on-line selling experience was the sale of beads through an auction site called Boxlot. That was October 8th 1998. As I grew more comfortable with this new thing they called the Internet, I ventured into selling more and more of my vast collection of vintage beads. I will never forget the excitement I felt whenever I discovered that someone had bid on one of my auctions...a sense of elation that is renewed each day. The Auction format introduced a wonderfully new venue for buyers and sellers alike. The only reservation I had was that, by nature of their very size, they seemed too impersonal. Wouldn't it be great, I remember wondering, if there was an auction site for Just Beads?
The JustBeads.com bead auction site represents the fruition of a personal dream in which I take great pride in having made a reality. From its very inception, my goal was not to create just another multi-category clone of the larger auction sites that existed at the time, but rather to create a virtual community for beaders that would cater to the needs of all of my fellow bead lovers.
JustBeads.com made its Internet debut on May 26, 1999, and has evolved to include features such as a monthly "Featured Artist" page, comprehensive lists of upcoming "Shows and Events" and local "Bead Societies," and a "Chat Forum" for beaders to come together. I'm still selling my vintage beads and enjoying every moment.
Bettina Jordan
Brooklyn, New York JustBeads.com
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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