Member Spotlight

Every few weeks we will be featuring members of the eBay Community. View the profile here, Profile #1,. Please read below if you are interested in participating.


zoltarpanaflex (552) 

Favorite Category(s): Many different categories
 
How long have you been using eBay and what do you use it for?
 
I have been registered on eBay since January 1999, at first was a buyer, but I have gotten into selling also, and now I do more selling than buying.
 
How did you first hear about eBay? (i.e., friend, family, search engine, advertisement, etc.):
 
I heard something about it on the net and thought I would check it out, and was hooked on the first moment I logged in. I found things that I would never find any other way! How can you beat that?
 
How often do you visit or surf the site?
 
I am on eBay at least every day, if not for a long time, looking at other auctions, and seeing what other people have up on their auctions.
 
What is the most unique thing that you have bought or sold?
 
I think it has to be a very old print I bought titled "Train Distances To The Planets" which shows how long it would take to get to the planets in this solar system on TRAINS - which shows how far technology has leapt forward from 1899 till now!
 
If you mainly use eBay to sell items, do you have a certain strategy that helps you to sell the items that you really want to sell? Or if you mainly use eBay to purchase items, do you have a certain strategy that helps you purchase the items that you really want to buy?
 
When I sell on eBay, I like to think I have unusual things that are not going to be found on other auctions, artifacts even, that add to other peoples' collections and interest them enough to bid on them. I think genuine uniqueness is a valuable factor.
 
What tips would you give to people out there who are selling or buying their items?
 
Read the auctions, and if the auction is vague, do not trust that all the information has been given. Nothing is more disappointing than shelling out hard-earned dollars and having a huge disappointment when you receive your auction item and it is not ANYTHING like you assumed it might be like.
 
Tell us how your Feedback rating has improved your reputation?
 
Over time, I have earned positive feedbacks, but the individual remarks are terrific. You can really trust a buyer OR seller that has a very solid feedback rating, with compliments. I know that nobody is going to have to worry about bidding on my auctions, because they can trust me.
 
Do you participate in the chat rooms, or the discussion boards? If you do, how often and which ones do you visit?
 
I have looked in on some, but not too much - I keep meaning to look more. I have recently joined a group called Ephemera Collectors, because I have a huge collection of paper items.
 
If you participate on any of eBay's Chat, Help, or Discussion boards, what reasons would you give someone new to encourage him or her to join in a chat?
 
Anything people can do to help educate themselves and learn and know more, has to be helpful, to be a good seller, and a smart buyer.
 
Has your life changed since you began visiting eBay? If so, in what way?
 
Well, aside from spending a bunch of money - I have found things that I would have never found with any ease before, a book I had as a child, all sorts of things. I do not know if my life has changed so much, but it is definitely more interesting with eBay!
 
What eBay feature or service would you say has been the most helpful to you and why?
 
I like the way all the categories are split up now, its tons easier to find what you are looking for without sifting through hundreds of auction titles, or having to read dozens of auction listings that have nothing to do with searches.
 
If you're a collector, tell us about your collection and how you got started collecting?
 
I have a few collections, nothing too obsessive, but let us just say without eBay, Pfister Corn Signs and Pfister Hotel items are darned hard to come by in Western Washington. I also collect Mona Lisa items, but I prefer the more offbeat, like silly movie posters and unconventional uses of the iconic "Mona Lisa". I still do not know why I collect these things. I am lucky enough to have seen the Mona Lisa personally, so maybe that is why?
 
If you mainly use eBay to sell items, have you ever bought anything on eBay? Or if you mainly use eBay to purchase items, have you ever sold anything on eBay? Please tell us about it:
 
I started on eBay only buying, I did not think I would ever sell anything, but suddenly, I inherited a second houseful of items, a whole estate. Where else would you turn but eBay, to find interested parties in a large mix of things? Moreover, I found it is very easy to sell things. I do not buy nearly as much as I used to - but I still look for things.
 
Can you give us a brief description of what eBay means to you?
 
Well, lately, eBay is a gateway to finding people who are interested in items I am selling, and gives me a huge audience of people, any of whom might be vastly interested. Before eBay, the alternatives were poor, a garage sale perhaps? You do not make much money on individual items at a garage sale.
 
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