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 - one who had a bad experience with a 50-cent Tshirt, and one who sold a 10-dollar pool cue for $100!

Hello Ina!
Thought I'd share my first auction sale experience with Auctionbytes. Note that it wasn't a good one!

I'd dipped my toe into the auction waters by buying, much like most people do. When I decided to sell, I took the advice I'd seen online, and started with things I had around the house. The first thing we sold was a Tshirt my son had won but never worn himself with a Georgia bulldog on it.

The sale seemed to go well. It sold for the whopping sum of 50 cents, but it was enough to get me hooked! It soon turned into a nightmare though, as I became a victim of a cruel game that some folks like to do to new sellers. The buyer started emailing me, saying that the shirt was a different size than I'd stated in the listing (it wasn't - we only had the one shirt!), and that I'd better refund him "or else".

I did the right thing by writing back, explaining that we only had the one shirt, and that it wasn't possible for it to be mixed up. Then he claimed that it couldn't be the stated size. We went round and round, until I finally said I'd refund him if he returned the shirt in the same condition it was in upon original arrival.

That loosed another barrage of emails, but now he claimed to be pulling in his wife, a fledgling lawyer, who was going to sue me for false advertising. Now, that was laughable over a 50-cent shirt. I had visions of Judge Judy in my head! I wrote back and told him to go ahead and sue if he preferred to not just return the shirt.

That was the last I heard from him, and a lesson learned that some folks troll for new sellers and low cost items, just so they can harrass them! Despite all of that, I continued, and spent over four years selling on eBay.
Beth Muffley
The Katy Workshop

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The first item I ever sold on ebay was a really nice pool cue. I had gotten it in a trade and really knew nothing about pool or cues. I headed to the pawn shops in town, and they mostly said they wanted to give me maybe $10. Finally, I drag into the last shop, whose owner gave me the same answer, but he said "Why not sell it on ebay?" I said "e what?". So he explained a bit. I went home, set up my account, and sold the cue for over $100. I was hooked.
little.lion