Meandering Missive: Happy eBay anniversary to me!

Monday, December 26, 2005

Happy eBay anniversary to me!

This isn't really a "belated" wish, since I didn't actually forget the festive date of Dec. 22 -- I just felt too sick to blog about it at the time! But since it was my OWN festive date, I forgive myself for not blogging about it until now. ;) eBay didn't forget about it either; they even sent me the following "card"...

That's right; on Dec. 22, 1998, I became a card-carrying member of the cult! *smirk* My I.D. there is acorn58. It's hard to believe it's been seven years! eBay was just three when I joined, prompted by my friend Nicole. I should've known she'd give good advice, as she's one of the few friends I made in middle school whom I'm still in touch with. She'd had good luck buying and selling books (and other things) on eBay, and thought I'd likewise enjoy the idea of buying and selling in the online auction format.

She was right! Nicole was also an excellent and patient mentor. She introduced me to basic HTML code and tags, which helped me design good-looking auctions in the days long before eBay had pre-made frilly templates sellers could use -- for an extra fee, that is! I continue to use and expand upon my HTML knowledge to this day. Thanks again for everything Nicole! :)

Over the years, I've tried to follow the self-imposed 2/3, 1/3 rule. My eBay activity should comprise 2/3 selling and 1/3 buying in any given year. That way, I'm always in the black, not in the red! As a seller, I've enjoyed much success (and a few failures) selling a crazy quilt of items! Between my simple but cheerful HTML designs, my good quality self-hosted digital photos, and especially my writing/editing skills in creating descriptive and persuasive text, it's hard for me NOT to sell something. *blush*

Some of my best luck has been with collectible used books from a series, especially Time-Life Foods of the World (sshhh!) and The Three Investigators kids' mystery/adventures (sshhh again!). Sorry, but I can neither confirm nor deny where I find these gems. (heehee) I also used to have good luck selling collectible glassware/barware with the names and/or logos of sodas, liquors and liqueurs, but I don't scout out that stuff anymore.

Another success has been shopping at places like Bath & Body Works, Body Shop and Victoria's Secret their semi-annual sales and clearances, and buying at big discounts a variety of bath and body items that will no longer be available in-store for another half-year. Sometimes items won't come back at all, but rather have been discontinued. Either way, I wait a few weeks after the last day of the sale, then turn around and sell the now in-demand items on eBay. B&BW (my fave, and coincidentally also that of "Shari of L.V.") starts the December version of their twice-yearly sale tomorrow, so you know where I'll be! And not just for things to sell on eBay, but to buy a few things for my indulgent self and as gifts for others. Body Shop also has a semi-annual sale on its website, but I'm not sure if it's also in stores. I'll have to call them.

What I've had the most success BUYING on eBay is just about anything with any combination of the following motifs: oak trees, oak leaves and acorns. From jewelry to postcards to stickers to housewares, I've found it! I probably wouldn't have half the beautiful oak-related things in my collection if not for eBay. :) I also used eBay to buy a talking bingo caller, cards and chips this past spring when I formed the Bingo Belles, my monthly gals-only bingo and friendship group. Oh, and I can't forget melt-and-pour soapmaking supplies: I found great deals and a great variety of fragrances and colorants from eBay sellers who could afford to charge less because they have no actual storefront. And then there are all the miscellaneous purchases I've used eBay for that I can't even begin to name, from socks to CDs to Beanie Babies!

And now that I've finished gushing about eBay *grin*, I won't gush but rather will briefly plug a few of my "sponsors", whom I get compensated for mentioning in my blog and linking to with specific key words. (Regular readers already know about this.)

If you like flowers and like the idea of buying/sending them via a thoughtful, well-designed website, check out DotFlowers. I prefer silver jewelry, but if anyone is looking for gold jewelry, you might want to visit Lussori. When I saw their website (even with compensation, I never mention a site before I visit it myself), I was surprised that they're based in Carmel, a beautiful seaside town just an hour's drive from me. (I guess I thought they'd be in Italy!) Speaking of precious metals, for those interested in the silver prices market, you can find plenty of helpful info from the folks at Monex Deposit Co. FightingForYou.com is a site I've seen in the past, and I like it, as it provides info and tools for folks involved (or getting involved) in personal injury/illness lawsuits relating to everything from prescription drugs to dogs to airbags. I'm supposed to link to them by saying New York personal injury, but I couldn't figure out a way to tie in the Big Apple. Oops! There - I just did! ;D

P.S. Quick health update -- as "better" as I was getting yesterday, I feel even "betterer" today. It wasn't strep, and the doctor said it wasn't severe enough to be flu, so I guess it was just a random virus! Thank you everyone who emailed or commented with well wishes. *blush* And thank you even MORE for keeping my dad's health in mind. :) I hope everyone continues to have a happy and HEALTHY holiday season and a great new year!

Today I am feeling content.

posted by ScaryShari @ 3:13 PM

2 Comments:

At 10:29 PM, Shari said…

OMG - I just added a Couvent des Minimes kit from B&BW to my cart on their site and it went from $39.50 to $5.92. WHOA! THE SALE HAS BEGUN!

Thanks to you, I don't know if I'll get any sleep tonight - my biggest issue right now is figuring out which store to hit first! :)
At 6:16 PM, Shari said…

Okay, I posted my post-shopping confession on my site - where's yours? :)

About Me