proebayer

Alison Kelly of Stewartsville has bought a lot of stuff on eBay. She can maneuver around the popular auction Web site with some degree of comfort.

But when it came to selling, Kelly was like a mouse cringing in the corner, afraid to touch the cheese because there might be a trap attached.
"I was always afraid I'd blow up the computer," Kelly says.

Kelly sat in the front row in a room of about 32 other eBay learners during an eBay Day training session co-sponsored by the auction house and the United States Postal Service at the Phillipsburg Public Library.
The postal workers putting on the show even wore new blue shirts bearing the logos of both the postal service and eBay -- a uniform designed for making money.

When asked what led to the public-private "co-branding" as it's called, presenter John Dock, imported from the Mahwah, N.J., post office by Stewartsville Postmaster Jeff Hahn, explained, "Think about it. Just think about it. Right now there are more than 500,000 sellers on eBay The postal service ships more than 1 million eBay-related items per day, and that number is growing."

Dock and other postal workers have become a traveling road show of sorts. They co-sponsor eBay Days throughout the region with the purpose of linking eBay to the mailing services of the USPS.

Parts of the presentation resembled late-night infomercials, with Dock and co-presenter Ken Weit talking about cost savings when eBayers use USPS services, such as special co-branded boxes for shipping.
They even took orders for eBay kits -- "a $75 value for $59.95," Dock told the group.
Dock stresses beginners need four critical tools to get started.

•   A decent digital camera to take photos of whatever they're selling. More people take notice if a picture accompanies a description of what's being sold.
•   A scale so eBayers can calculate postage accurately. Without it, the seller could be cheating him- or herself by undercharging the buyer.
•   A magnifying glass to search for identifying signatures or other information on items being sold. Is it just a generic glass? Or is it Waterford Crystal? Finding the right marks can mean a difference between a couple bucks and a couple hundred bucks.
•   Professional packing. "Don't go dumpster diving for boxes to ship your product," Dock says. "And don't use newspaper as packing. It doesn't really protect. Use bubble wrap or Styrofoam 'peanuts.' I know one seller who even sprays a shot of Febreeze in his boxes. It makes it nice when they're opened."

Weit, meanwhile, stresses the importance of a seller maintaining a good reputation.
"That's all you really have," he says.

Those familiar with eBay know that once the transaction is complete, the buyer can -- and should -- take the opportunity to "grade" the seller on speed of delivery, condition of item when it's received, and whether any roaches hitchhiked along with that dumpster-retrieved cardboard box the item came in.

The bottom line seems to be, don't be cheap and charge enough from your customers to cover expenses.
Kelly plans to use her newfound knowledge and confidence to expand the services she and others provide at the NORWESCAP Thrift Store in Phillipsburg.

"I'll also be downsizing my own home," she says of stuff that's just gathering dust when it could be gathering cash.
Dock adds, "You know, most of the stuff sold on eBay comes from either the trash or garage sales."
The eBay Day presentations only scratch the surface of eBay-USPS co-branding, but Weit and Dock continually referred to its ease of use and urge new users to take the 1-hour and 40-minute tutorial on the eBay Web site. In fact, Dock keeps repeating what seems to be a USPS-eBay mantra -- "It's as simple as that."

However, if you don't have time to devote to eBay, yet you've got something to sell, professional go-betweens are cropping up here and there.
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