What is your most interesting EBAY story?

Question

I tried Ebay once...and only once. When I almost had to pay $3,400 for a freaking board game that I meant to only bid $34.00 on, I knew this was NOT the place for me.

What's your story?

Answer 1

I paid my mortgage for almost 7 months using eBay!!

I had just started a new business, was living off of my savings, and I needed money in a BAD way to pay the bills...so...being a collector of comics, books, music stuff, etc...I said to myself..."Self, you need to pay the bills...and you can either go back to working for someone else, or you can try and sell some of your collection on eBay."

Well, I knew what some of my stuff was already worth, so I dug it all out..created a whole bunch of "auction lots" and expanded my user account to a seller account and started listing my items.

I cleared about $800 my first month...which I desperately needed and I was hooked. Then I had another idea...why not go to yard/garage sales each weekend and see what people have for sale? So me and a friend of mine got up early every weekend and went to the "sales" and amassed large quantities of stuff that I sold on eBay for major profits. (one sale that sticks out was of a set of 10 metal toy tanks that I picked up for 75 cents...and sold for $32 on eBay)

Now realize, this was almost 10 years ago...before the big eBay explosion, and I was earning close to $3500 a month at the end of my 3rd month...and I was so busy, that my business partner was like..."Uhm...ya gonna do our business...or this new eBay business?" So, I cut back a bit and used my weekends and evenings to take care of eBay stuff. In about 7 months, I cleared close to $12,000.00. But I had to stop, because my other business took off, and I had absolutely no free time at all. So I sold all my stock and quit.

I still wonder if I woulda turned into one of those eBay millionaires if I would have kept going. Ah well, c'est le vie.

Answer 2

What happened with the board game? Lol. Did you actually place a bid for that amount? Ebay places incremental bids on your behalf up to your maximum bid, so you would have only had to pay a few dollars over whatever the highest bid was, right? I think that's how it works... but I just started myself, and just lost my first auction, so who knows? I don't really have an interesting story yet. I guess the most interesting story would have to be my first and only winning bid... which was a victory by proxy, but still fun. My brother recently acquired a vintage, handmade French bicycle frame and is in the process of "building it up". He found an old French bicycle seat on Ebay from the same era as his frame and became obsessed with it. It's a beautiful seat... brown leather with a nice, burnished patina of age and a very elegant stamp from the maker on the side. Anyway, only one other person had bid on it, so my brother made a few test bids, but couldn't climb over the other bidder's maximum. So he stopped bidding on it to give the illusion he had walked away from the auction. This was about a week ago and he's been watching it like a hawk ever since. In all that time the bid hadn't moved from $48.00. So last night was the big night. As my brother sat in front of the computer hitting the refresh button to keep an eye on the clock, we discussed betting strategy. He was sure he would clinch it with a $200.00 bid (crazy, I know)... and maybe end up paying a hundred for it tops. I had this gut feeling that the other bidder was as crazy as my brother and had put a higher bid than this as his hidden maximum. By this time my sister-in-law and my little nephew had come upstairs to watch, so I guess the atmosphere was "charged" lol... or at least very noisy with my nephew jumping up and down and yelling, confused by all the excitement. With a minute left on the clock, I told my brother to put his bid at $250.00 if he really wanted it. He did, just as the auction clocked out. The other bidder's maximum, it turns out, was $222.22... so my brother won his precious seat for $224.22.

Answer 3

MOST interesting? I bought a (get this) board game. It's quite rare and was expecting to have to pay over $3000 for it but I lucked out and only had to pay $15.

Sure am glad I didn't bid $1500. At least now I am.

I don't use e-bay that often.

Answer 4

I almost got a backhoe. It was a last second bidding war, at least three ways, and the winning bid was only $250.00 (two hundred fifty). What a steal! I offered the winner $1,000.00 for it, but he said no.

Mostly, I just don't use it any more since they mostly sell dollar store crap nowadays. In fact, a friend got a bunch of dollar store wedding albums, and some of the "rock" spray paint, and sold a bunch of them for about $20.00 each, he had only about $2.00 invested in each.

Answer 5

I was browsing Ebay and saw a Nightmare Before Christmas snow globe listed as rare and selling for over $200.00. I was shocked. I had the same globe in my closet. It had been real cheap at the Disney store if I bought over 30 bucks of stuff. I got it out and sold it on ebay for $150.00
Good times Good times.

Answer 6

I recently bought a steer skull on e-bay.for 49 bucks.
It said , assembly required.
Figuring , how much assembly can that be....
Well , the thing came, it is pretty big and the horns had to be screwed into the skull.
Took me 3 hours to fit them in place,I was ready to throw this horny contraption in the garbage,after the first hour.But after all was done and I hung it on the wall,I said...hmmmm.not bad...not bad at all,and I went back on Ebay and bought a bunch more stuff for my cowboy room.
Only thing I didn't like that I got were 3 miniature saddles....you kinda have to squint to see them,I think I'm gonna throw them away....

Answer 7

I found my dream wedding gown on the other side of the US, bought it for $99.00! It was delivered in perfect, never used condition, I had to have the bottom hemmed.
Never been happier with a purchase!
If you only want BAD experiences I sold a leather jacket, sent it after getting the envelope with the "m.o. in it." I should've opened it first! There was a note not a m.o. So after 8 days of constantly harrassing & finally explaining that they used the US mail to rip me off, I could have them arrested for mail fraud. I had a m.o over nighted to me that day. I win! lol

Answer 8

I bid on a golf club,won the auction,I paid for the club and this guy mailed it to me,I left feedback for him and he did the same,WOW!!

Answer 9

I knew you seemed familiar!! You forgor to mention that you NEVER PAID!!

DEADBEAT BIDDER!!

I want my $3400.00!!