EBay entrepreneurs winning success (Article About TOP eBayer---13,000+ Feedbacks!)

Los Angeles Times via Chicago Tribune ^ | October 31, 2002 | David Colker

[PJ-Comix]

You can find everything on EBay from a Learjet to a velvet painting of Elvis. But Jay and Marie Senese have found something far more rare on the auction site: a new way of life. EBay Inc. has afforded the husband-and-wife entrepreneur team the chance to earn a living selling CDs from their Sierra Madre home. They wrote a business plan, found sources for the more than 5,000 used CDs they put up for bid weekly, worked out the considerable logistics for handling their auctions and hired two full-time employees and several part-timers. The Seneses report to no one. If only they could take a day off. The couple's operation, known as 1 Cent CD, is by far the most successful home-based business operating on EBay, as measured by volume of merchandise. But like thousands of other full-time EBay merchants, the Seneses have discovered one of the great ironies of the Internet: The 21st century technology that has enabled them to run a business from home also has trapped them in an 18th century, work-consuming lifestyle reminiscent of farmers tied to their land or shopkeepers who lived above the store.

[PJ-Comix]

You ever thought of doing half.com?

Done it. It used to be great but now it stinks. eBay will be shutting down Half.Com soon. However, if you want to BUY a book you can get them incredibly cheap there nowadays.

[FloridaBoy]

More power to them. We buy and sell some stuff on ebay and it does take work and time.

[pgkdan]

I think the shipping costs are turning off alot of buyers.

Well...they've got 130,000 who aren't turned off.

[EllaMinnow]

I do most of my book-buying on half.com, I just haven't made the jump to selling on there.
Why is eBay shutting it down?

[pgkdan]

I love Ebay. I've been selling a plastic polish there for several months now. I was tickled pink when my feedback got to 100...but 130,000!!! My gawd, I'm floored!

[andysandmikesmom]

PJ...I completely agree with you...at EBAY you are always encouraged to check the feedback of all buyers and sellers with whom you envision a transaction....when I buy anything over at EBAY, the very first thing I do, is check their feedback, which is always available, and I do read the comments....if a seller has nothing but mostly neutral or negative feedback, a person is nuts to buy anything from them....and EBAY always encourages buyers and sellers to check each other out, and always, say, Buyer Beware....if someone buys something from a seller who has such bad feedback, they are acting stupidly, and if they get cheated, they have no one to blame but themselves...they were warned by others....I dont know if I even believe that EBAY would allow such a bad seller to keep using their services....

About my EBAY experiences....I dont sell, I just buy....and have had more than 500 transactions, and have never ever gotten stiffed, or ever had a bad experience....I buy a lot, because I am an avid doll collector....all my usual places for buying my collector dolls,have lost my business, because just about 95per cent of the time, I can get a doll I want, cheaper on EBAY....I also love Pendleton Beaver State Robes and Shawls(Indian blankets)...I can always get them cheaper on EBAY, than if I went to the factory in Pendleton, Oregon, or to a retail store....

I also enjoy sewing and quilting, and I have a fabulous selection of fabrics, and sewing accessories, at my disposal on EBAY, and always for cheaper than in the traditional fabric stores...

I have also gotten beautiful Hummels, and Harmony Kingdom collectibles, plus a silver wolf ring, and sterling silver wolf head cane for my husband....plus lots and lots of books...and all at well below, ,what one would pay in a regular store...

EBAY, has served me quite well, as a buyer...

[PJ-Comix]

Why is eBay shutting it down?

There was a Wall Street Journal article back in March about how eBay is shutting down Half.Com because it isn't profitable enough. I can believe that. Book prices have dropped tremendously since I started listing there. For example I picked up Hitler's Pope brand new at a special community center sale here. I grabbed it for a buck figuring there was no way I could get less than $10 for it. I was wrong. It was selling for only a couple of bucks brand new and wasn't worth it to me to list. That's the way it is with a lot of other books as well. However, if you are a buyer, it is a great place to shop since the prices are below what you would get at any local bookstore. BTW, how can used bookstores possibly stay in business nowadays?

[kstewskis]

So why not cease listsing the CDs for a couple of weeks and take a vacation? I don't get this.

It might be because of their huge volume...there is a constant incoming of payment, transactions, ect....that don't stop while they are away.

I'm guessing, but it might also depend on the the capacity of their employees jobs, what they actually do (i.e. deposits, bank stuff...?)

Thanks to eBay, I have more stuff hanging on my walls (and some great books) than I know what to do with.

[EllaMinnow]

BTW, how can used bookstores possibly stay in business nowadays?

They're kept in business by people trying to find something to sell on half.com.

[kstewskis]

For example I picked up Hitler's Pope brand new at a special community center sale here. I grabbed it for a buck figuring there was no way I could get less than $10 for it.

I have that audiobook (18 tapes) that I haven't even listened to (except part of the first tape) that I've been wanting to list on eBay for a couple of years now.

I guess I should stop procrastinating? I was going to start the auction like around $5 or so.

[listenhillary]

BTW, how can used bookstores possibly stay in business nowadays

By selling on ebay...

[Porterville]

I still make money on eBay. This month alone I made $300 last month about $200 during Xmas around $700. It is a nice addition for quick money.

[PatriotBill]

130,000 Feedbacks is unbelievable! Check out our eBay Auctions...screen name: melmo302

[PJ-Comix]

They're kept in business by people trying to find something to sell on half.com.

Yeah, I did that for awhile but nowadays books are so cheap on Half.Com that even with shipping they are cheaper than at the used bookstores so how those bookstores stay in business is beyond me.

[fishbabe]

you know dems don't like people like you...they want us all to work at wal-mart,so we are dependent on the dems for everything and its also easier to keep track of all of us!!!!!!

[PJ-Comix]

Half.com has that audiotape starting at $7.33.

[PJ-Comix]

Check out our eBay Auctions...screen name: melmo302

I just did. It looks like you have a little bit of everything. Too bad about that ONE negative that stained your otherwise perfect feedback record.

[Old Professer]

Atmosphere; you can smell them and touch them in a real store.

[Rebelbase]

My best deal selling was a Japanese Fender Telecaster with a warped neck I bought for $100 from a guy who advertised it for $300 in the newspaper. I tweaked the truss road a bit to straighen up the neck and sold it for $360 on Ebay

[Mygirlsmom]

Although I sell a lot of misc. stuff, my best category is vintage children's books. Bought a book for a quarter that I figured would go for $40 or $50, and it ended up at $367.00. Several have gone over $100. I agree, though with the person who posted that profit margins are way down on most items. Combine that with the high cost of shipping and it hardly pays to list a lot of things that used to be very profitable. I've been sticking to anything that I can ship media mail and to gently used clothing that can be stuffed into a Priority envelope.