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 Jennifer, who sold a bar of soap to a Belgian couple - wait til you hear why they wanted it!
Actually this wasn't the very first item I ever sold on eBay, but the first group of items that I sold to get established as a seller with seller feedback. I figured the quickest way to do this was to buy some inexpensive items and move them through and get an established "seller" feedback.
I visited an auction and bought 3 box lots of old advertising items fairly cheap. I put them all on eBay at $1.99 to $2.99 each. I believe there were 40 pieces total.
One of the pieces was a bar of Lava Soap from the 1940's, still in original wrapper. When the auction ended it was a buyer from Brussels, Belgium! I was shocked that someone from Europe would want a bar of Lava soap! But when asked, the wife's maiden name was Lava and they collected Lava items because of her maiden name. So for around $25.00 shipping, the $1.99 bar of Lava soap went to Europe.
This is still my favorite sale that reminds me that what one considers junk is always another's treasure. Now I sell glass and pottery plus antiquarian books, and through the years I still haven't figured out what my treasure will be to another, or just junk!
Jennifer Smith http://stores.ebay.com/Ohio-Pottery-And-Glassware
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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