posted on March 9, 2012 04:18:07 PM new
Yes, neil, those were the days. I remember running upstairs after being out (no wireless devices then) to check the activity, & there was always activity. Ah, the good ol' days. Sigh...
posted on March 9, 2012 09:26:41 PM new
Things were definitely more fun in the 90's - No paypal, straight listing fee and commission (all fees were way lower), things sold, and for the most part, buyers paid! I remember running auctions and then having to wait days for the checks to come in.
The funny story for me is that I was doing online auctions for a while when ebay came around. I wasn't that impressed with them, and had an established business elsewhere. I only signed up with them because they were a paid advertiser for a collectibles website I ran. I figured it would be a good idea to be a customer of theirs. Now, 15 years later, I can't even remember the names of the auction sites I was involved with (though one of them I think was associated with the LA Times believe it or not)
posted on March 10, 2012 04:16:15 AM new
13 1/2 for me. I can remember when everything sold! It was exciting to see the bids going up and up, I think the most I had was 27. Now, I can list 20 items on the free listing days, and I do well if 3 sell, and rarely more than one bid on each. I won't even mention how much the fees have increase.
posted on March 10, 2012 05:07:02 AM new
13 years last month. I would take photos of my stuff with a 35mm take the photos off to be developed. Spend a few hours scanning them into a file so I could transfer them to eBay. AW now Vendio sure helped speed up that process as did a digital camera. I did ok as a PT seller. I did write a business plan to go full time someday. That someday is here and I've changed my mind I think.
Its a lot of work and a cash investment to make a living on eBay, More so to day than back then. I used to sell 70-80% of my stuff on the 1st listing now when I list stuff its closer to 40-50%.
The web be it eBay or some place else is still a great place to start or have a business.
Now if I could find the right product....
posted on March 10, 2012 07:55:45 AM new
I forgot about the digital camera. When I started (before ebay) I had a scanner with my 486 computer. It cost me something like $500, but I was dealing mostly in cards back then so it worked for me. It also was necessary for my website and my online newsletter (really a blog before there was a blog)
I got my first digital camera not too long after I went on Ebay - again, a $500 purchase, and worth every penny. It was a Sony Mavica, the kind with the floppy disc. I was actually using this camera until maybe 4 years ago, even though I had other cameras it was a lot easier to take the disc out, and pop it in my computer (Even though I had to do 6 lots at a time) - The USB Transfer cable never did much for me, but with my newer computers, just putting the SD or XD card directly into the computer meant bye bye Mavica (and my last 2 computers didn't have a floppy drive)
posted on March 10, 2012 08:42:31 AM new
I started out with an Olympia D-360L digital.
I paid about $500 for it. I have had about 6 of them since then. I buy them on Ebay for $30. now and they work fine for me. Just plug it in and I am in business.
[ edited by niel35 on Mar 10, 2012 06:56 PM ]
posted on March 10, 2012 09:53:10 AM new
my first items were Hot Wheel cars I bought at a thrift store.
I bought a grab bag of hot wheels that had some 1970's cars still in their packages including some from a Super Hero line. I paid $4 for the bag and made about $200 on everything.
Oh times have changed. Things I remember:
1) X.com (before Paypal bought them out). When I signed up, they sent me a packet of checks to use my funds or I could transfer funds. Ha!
2) No digital camera. I used to photograph everything with a film camera, go to WalMart and have them printed, and then go home and scan them. Talk about time consuming. That was my first year, and when I bought a digital camera I never bought another thing from WalMart again.
3) Listing one item at a time with dial up. What was DSL???
There are some good things from the golden age of eBay, but there are some I would rather forget. lol.
posted on March 10, 2012 10:03:56 AM new
Another thing I remember... I had a computer I bought from my work that was quite old and practically useless, so I went to Circuit City (remember them???) and paid about $300 for a computer, monitor, and scanner. I got such a good deal out of it because I had to sign up for Compuserve dial up service.
I also remember the obnoxious discs I would get from AOL, Earthlink, and anyone else who tried to give us 1000 hours of internet service for free.
And to think, this was just over 10 years ago.
Heck, the first iPhone was released less than 5 years ago.
posted on March 10, 2012 10:35:34 AM new
Although I was on CompuServe in 1993 (another topic of fun, premium areas cost something like $60 an hour to access back then, for what is basically a message board) I got a computer in 2001 from Circuit City with the CompuServe deal. I think I had to agree to a year extension or something like that. I remember when CompuServe, AOL and Prodigy (I was on all 3) were closed systems, the beginning of the end for them was opening it up. In the 1990's you couldn't even email anyone outside of the system. I started using email in the late 1980's at UCLA, and thought it was insane someone on AOL couldn't email someone on CompuServe or on the internet in general.
posted on March 10, 2012 12:01:46 PM new
The best thing ever happened is all you can eat plan,I was on AOL and I weil go from chat room to chat room and some folks have scanners and are making money scanning photos for a fee.
My first camera was a basic Kodak floor sample ,there must be some defect with the installation software,it took all night to complete the installation.
Then I read about online auction site Ebay and started bidding on jade,then my neighbors checked into nursing home and their son gave me some of the stuff they have been hoarding in the last 60 years,the rest is history!
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posted on March 10, 2012 11:19:14 PM new
13 years....Started out with estate sales. Packed so much stuff in the mini-van that there was just enough room to drive it home. Spend $125, sell 1 item and get all my money back. It's been fun. Hope eBay doesn't fee me to death.....
posted on March 11, 2012 03:56:25 PM new
Thanks Merrie,
We probably are still living in the dark ages as senior citizens in our seventies.
Still having fun on Ebay, but the changes and new rules have made it a little more stressful.
posted on March 11, 2012 04:14:54 PM new
Davidsmom: if it isn't broke...
I wish Ebay used that philosophy instead of changing policies all the time. I know there have been a lot of improvements overall, but many new policies are capricious & in my opinion, not well thought out or necessary.
posted on March 12, 2012 12:46:14 PM new
eBayvet and others here: I still have my original Sony Mavica; DH urges me to get a newer one without the floppies. The chief charm for me still is that I can zoom in and take really great closeups. Can your new cameras do that? Please advise! Adele
posted on March 12, 2012 12:59:25 PM new
I do have to admit the Mavica took some great shots. Over the years, I picked up a few more (my first one was over $500, the last one I picked up was for $10) - the later ones had a better lens, and I had more options besides the floppy disc. The main reason I stopped using them (and I was until relatively recently) was because it was a pain to have only like 6 photos on a disc, and I had to plus in a USB floppy drive. I currently use a Olympus camera with an XD card - not the highest magnification (8 megapixels vs. 1 megapixel for the Mavica) but really, how good does it have to be for an ebay auction? It does have excellent magnification, and it is easy to remove the card, pop it in my computer, and I am ready to go.
posted on March 13, 2012 07:42:13 PM new
I remember my husband bringing in a stack of envelopes everyday. He'd be singing "Checks in the mail, checks in the mail!" Started in 1997 and I am still using my Sony Mavica too! I have another one ready in case this one craps out!
posted on March 20, 2012 08:18:24 AM new
OMG I forgot about the rush of going to the mailbox and having a nice stack envelopes with cash, money orders, personal checks & NO PayPal fees....Only had one bad check in all those years and the woman called me and told me there was going to be an issue and she took care of my bank fees.
I told myself back then that it couldn't last....you can't be making that kind of money and people not find out about it. Just hadn't counted on eBay and PayPal getting so stupid with fees and rules.
posted on March 20, 2012 08:23:01 AM new
During the pre-paypal days, I never had a bad check. I've only had one since, but I don't even accept checks anymore. They can bounce after cash is in your account, and there really is no way to collect on them from an out of state address. Nobody even asks though, everyone uses paypal, which of course takes a very decent size cut out of the total. It is pretty amazing how the margins have shrunk. Media mail has almost doubled from the late 1990's, fees are way higher...still making it work, but it is a much larger challenge.
posted on March 20, 2012 09:43:36 AM new
I use my Paypal debit card as a credit card when I go shopping and I get a 1 1/2 % rebate from Paypal,it helps to cut down the Paypal fee,but not the Ebay fee!
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