Our Growing Collection

I wanted to let everyone know how I got started with E-Bay and some of my original experiences. 

About the last week of October 2007 the Golf Club I operate was broken into and some sets of clubs were stolen.  When I met with the police, the officer suggested I watch for these clubs on E-Bay as it would be a good place for someone to sell them for profit.  I found this strange as I immediately thought that E-Bay was just a place to fence stolen property.  I had heard of E-Bay before but had never really paid much attention to it.  This was about to change.

I logged on as a guest and began to look around.  Immediately I realized what E-Bay was all about, a 24/7 365 day a year retail opportunity with the additional option to also sell in an auction format.  Could it get any better than this? 
 
While looking around I came across the first item I ever bid on.  Someone was selling $71.60 in Canadian Funds and the opening bid was 1 dollar.  Could you imagine my surprise when I saw this?  I could not envision why someone would not just take this to the bank and have it exchanged into US Funds.  I immediately bid on it and followed it up to the point when it sold for over the actual amount it was worth once you had factored in the shipping.  Now I was really amazed and knew immediately that E-Bay provided a great opportunity for both the seller and the buyer.

Our First Purchase

Now as a registered Member of E-Bay I began to bid on items that are a part of my hobby.  I collect and race slot cars with my two daughters who are 6 and 7.  We enjoy doing this together and as you could imagine I was getting a little tired of all the Formal Tea Parties I had to attend.  We made our first purchase on E-Bay, a lot of 5 slot cars.  I was so excited with all the cars in this lot, but one in particular was truly going to be a great addition to our collection.  The day finally came and our first package arrived.  We tore into like a pack of hungry wolves excited to see its contents.  Wow, what a disappointment.  The car, the one we were waiting for, looked as if it had been stepped on and was of no real value as it didn't even run.  The look on my girl’s faces was one to behold and it tore my heart out.  My youngest burst into tears thinking she had damaged it when we opened the package.  I immediately let her know that this was not the case and that we would find out what had happened.  I went to the original listing and re-read it, with no part of the description saying anything about this type of damage.  I contacted the seller and the response I got was appalling.  He said that the auction stated "As Is" and that I should have asked questions.  Looking at the picture on the auction it was now obvious the seller had intentionally hidden the damage and was really laughing at us for being so gullible.  We learned a valuable lesson that day and I explained to my girls that not everyone was always honest and that sometime people try to cheat you so you have to be aware as a buyer.  My girls will never forget this lesson, me also.  More importantly I also spoke to them about the more positive aspect in life in that most people are honest hard working and fair and not everyone is out to get you.

Our first experience was somewhat of a let down, however I can assure you that this type of thing has been very rare.  We have purchased hundreds of items through E-Bay in the last couple of months and are extremely pleased with the people we have been in contact with.  We have dealt with many great individuals and have even begun friendly dialogue with others who share a passion for slot cars.

Our Favorite Golf Hole

Our First Sale

We had bought, so now why not try selling.  We listed 29 different items in the first week of selling and much to our surprise we sold 26 of the 29 items, mostly golf equipment, fishing equipment and slot cars.  The first item we sold was an old Ping Driver that I had not used in years.  It sold for $79 and we watched it right to the point where it said Auction is Over.  The excitement at our house was tremendous and by the reaction of my girls you would have though we had just sold the Mona Lisa.  Within a week we had opened our own store and are pleased to say we have sold over 100 items to date with some decent prices for items we had little or no interest left in.  Wow, now we had more money to spend on slot cars and away we went bidding like mad.  We have increased our collection by over 200 cars in less than two months and to us it has been for free as we see the money for items sold on E-Bay as found money.

We have found E-Bay to be a very enjoyable family experience and one that has brought us some fun and enjoyment while at the same time it has taught some very valuable lessons to my children in regards to people and business.

We plan on expanding our E-Bay Empire and look forward to doing business with you in the future.  We are currently sourcing more products and look forward to being a part of the E-Bay community for many years to come

Thanks

The "mightjustbethething" Family