The Sky is the Limit: Buying and Selling on eBay
Learn From eBay's Unique Sales and Stories
Sep 7, 2008
Hasn't everyone considered having a yard sale to eliminate excess clutter? And likely, most of us hate the idea of sitting in the heat or cold for hours haggling over baby furniture purchased a hundred years ago.
Maybe it is time to join the approximately 147 million other people in more than one hundred fifty countries who already use eBay to buy and sell goods.
Buying and Selling on eBay
It's not rocket science. Anyone with a minimal understanding of the Internet can learn to use eBay's online marketplace.
Speaking of rockets, a Russian company is purported to have put a spacecraft up for sale on eBay. The offering price is not known because the reserve price (lowest acceptable amount) was never reached. Bidding is said to have topped out at $25,200, most likely because of the exorbitant $5,000 shipping fee.
Purchasing and selling goods on eBay is simple and clearly outlined at the site. Be prepared to pay a seller's fee, a small portion of the final sales price for each item you successfully auction off.
Unusual Sales Items
Along with all the practical and hard-to-find goods, there have been many unusual items for sale on eBay throughout its history.
Take the case of the "Ghost in a Jar". The ghost was apparently terrorizing the man who ended up with it after purchasing an older home. He decided that selling it was the right way to get rid of the ghost. Believe it or not, sixty bids were placed on it. Since then, many other creative sellers have come up with their own versions of the "ghost in a jar".
Be Careful What You Bid For
In recent years, the buyers on eBay have come from all corners of the globe to find exactly what they want by using the internet to locate it.
A computer savvy three year old managed to purchase a $60,000.00 car on eBay without the immediate knowledge of his parents. Luckily for them, once they discovered his exorbitant purchase, they contacted the seller immediately and were not held liable for their little boy's play date on eBay.
Be careful what you bid for!
eBay Sales Reach All Four Corners of the Globe
There's something exhilarating about being able to reach people anywhere on the planet with a product or idea. Producers on the TV show Ally McBeal once brilliantly used eBay to auction off a walk-on part on the show. How's that for creative advertising?
What can't be auctioned? Log onto eBay's website to see the current list of prohibited items. Then click on "sell" at the top of the page and eBay will take you through a tutorial, step by step. And, well, if a three year old can do it, then what are we waiting for?
 |
