Happy Birthday to Me!

Ok, so it's almost a week late, but it's also probably the most exciting thing that's happened to me this week.  On Monday, December 6th, I turned 34.  I'm going through this weird phase right now where I've started to act like I'm 24 again - going to happy hours, gossipping with the girls, and generally not acting (or dressing "my age".  For the most part I'm enjoying this harmless renaissance, but sometimes I wonder whether it will affect my reputation at work or how people see me as a professional.  We're not talking about dancing drunk on tables or anything like that, but still...

I'm not sure this really relates to my now basically defunct eBay business - I'm fact, I'm sure it doesn't - but the thing with the business is once I got all the strategies down it became very transactional and frankly there wasn't all that much to write about.  "Another item sold.  I shipped it today.  Wish it had gone for more.  Oh well" doesn't make for a very titillating blog entry.  Soooo I'll tell you about the shoes I bought myself as a birthday present!  They are sparkly.  Very very sparkly.  I wore them to my office holiday party.  I also wore a little black dress significantly shorter than anyting I would ever dare wear to the office.

It may have something to do with the 30 lbs I've lost since my son was born - or the 15 lbs I've lost in the last 6 months.  Or maybe it's a midlife crisis.  Whatever it is, I hope it wear off soon - it's really taking a toll on my wallet! :)

Radio Silence

I'm so sorry for the radio silence.  I didn't realize until today it's been more than two weeks since I last posted!  Happy Thanksgiving, I hope you're all doing well.

The truth is that while I've had some activity on eBay, I've been out of the shopping loop for a while.  I'm a really fickle creature, and there's a lot going on right now at work and in my life that is sucking my attention away from the business.

Most importantly, though, I've discovered that my 2.5 year old son's behavior has improved ten fold since I stopped fully dedicating myself to being a shoe broker on evenings and weekends.  Despite the fact that a lot of what I do can be done from home, my being constantly glued to the computer was taking a toll on him.  He was acting out, throwing tantrums, being clingy, and just generally an unhappy kid.

Slowly but surely, he's getting back to his normal, happy self - with the occasional temper tantrum (he is two, after all!).  Somehow I'm going to have to find a way to be more balanced in my interests.

In other news, I went shopping on Black Friday and was sorely disappointed.  Not a good deal in sight on the kind of stuff I like.  In other, other news, my main eBay account might seem empty but my "secret" account is in full swing!  I've got a bunch of very cute ladies' shoes there in a size 7.5 - most of them never worn.  A friend of mine is having knee surgery, and I'm giving her a hand in selling her awesome high heel collection.  Just look for the Naughty Monkey and you will find the secret account!

O-M-G I So Totally LOVE My New Shoes! *Giggle*

Today I want to talk about the duality of me.  And shoes, of course.

I got a pair of new shoes in the mail this morning.  I saw them at Neiman Marcus a few weeks back and ignored every piece of advice I've ever given you guys by buying them on the spot at FULL PRICE.  They didn't have my size so one of the sales associates had them special ordered for me. I didn't even use a coupon,online code, NOTHIN'.  The shoes are high-heeled, cutout oxfords in a style I never, EVER would have imagined myself liking.  Just goes to show what they say about love is true - it is blind and it knows no bounds.

I rarely buy things for myself on my shopping excursions but this time I just couldn't help it.  The thing I want to talk about, though, is how much I've been daydreaming about these shoes as I waited.  And how excited I was when I got them.  And how I'm never taking them off again.

Here's the thing.  I've been a lot more in touch with my "girly" side lately.  Up until recently I suppressed that part of myself and something about the last few months has made that side come back with a vengeance.  I'm gossipping with my girlfriends in the office, talking about movie stars and crushes, getting my eyebrows waxed... all the things that I would roll my eyes at in my head while I was in "austere, kick-ass, all-business" mode.  As torn as I feel about my newly resurfaced girliness, I'm having a great time right now and while I'm a tiny bit ashamed of my girliness nothing's going to stop me from getting a huge kick out of wearing my awesome new shoes to work on Monday. 

These shoes represent the fact that I'm complex.  I can be totally no nonesense and totally "girly" in one conversation.  I can giggle while I look authoritative.  And I can get as excited about a new pair of shoes as I do about getting praise from my bosses at work.  This is who I am.  And God damn it, I LOVE MYSELF.

PS: So what do you think of my shoes??  Aren't they totally HOT?

My New Distribution Strategy

San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua

I think I've probably mentioned on here before how I'm originally from Nicaragua.  I lived there most of my life, though I went to the American school until the age of 18, and then took off for college in California.  My family is pretty priviledged by Nicaragua standards, although we've probably be upper middle class in the US - if that.

One of the privilidges that the upper class Nicaraguan ladies enjoy is coming shopping in the US.  Nicaraguan shopping leaves a LOT to be desired of.  You can't get designer brands and even a simple pair of Nine West pumps from a few seasons ago can run you upwards of $150 if purchased there.  I don't have a ton of friends in Nicaragua anymore, but my mom is there and my sister still has a lot of friends there as well.  Well, my sister is so likeable she has a lot of friends EVERYWHERE, but I will try to stick to the point.

With my sister's help (she has an MBA with a concentration in marketing) I have been tapping into the Nicaraguan market.  Not only can I get the designer items my clients can't get there, I can also get them for cheaper than they would expect to pay on one of their US shopping trips.  My last three clients have all been from Nicaragua, and through word of mouth my special projects continue to roll in.

For those of you wondering why my eBay store looks so threadbare, now you know why!  My countrymen and women have been keeping me busy!!  Although... this is super top secret but my alter ego eBay seller ID just got a big load of awesome shoes that I'm helping a friend sell.  If you're a 7.5, watch out!  I'm probably going to try to sell you some shoes!!

War of the Shoes

Here's an old school type of post for you.

Behold two shoes.  Both are Christian Louboutin.  Both New In Box.  One is a size 36.5 and the other a 38.5.  One is white, and a sandal, and therefore painfully out of season.  It's also a small size, which is harder to sell.  The other is purple - a fall/winter color - but it's a wedge, and Louboutin wedges don't sell as well because as I've said before, people who pay a ton of money for shoes usually want other people to know they've paid a ton of money for shoes.  The red soles are a clear indication that said lot of money has been made, and wedges and flats make it harder for people to see the red soles.

They're roughly the same price and I'm relisting them both at the same time (tonight).  Which one do you think will sell first??  Winner gets $10 "store credit" for my shopping services.

Christian Louboutin White Joli Noeud 36.5

Louboutin Lady Lynch Zeppa Size 38.5

A Plug - and More Pics of My Clients!

This smashing model is my longtime friend and one of my favorite clients, Rosa.  She's wearing a pair of pants I got for her, and looking HOT doing it.  But that's not all.  Not only does Rosa look like a rock star, she's also an incredibly smart businesswoman AND she has an amazing political analysis blog called "Rosa's Reality Check" that you all need to check out.

At the risk of going off topic, I have to admit I don't really care for politics, particularly since it frustrates me that politics in this country are SO partisan.  Most people don't vote for issues, they vote for parties.  What I like about Rosa's blog is that she uses her knowledge of constitutional law to dissect the political system as opposed to parties or candidates - and she rails against BOTH sides. :)  She's also a powerful and entertaining writer, so all in all, a must read!

As for me, I've got a new segementation strategy that I've been dying to tell you guys about.  Watch for a new post about this in the next couple of days!

Happy Halloween!

I'm back in town and trying desperately to recover from a marathon 3 and a half days in Mexico.  I'm trying really hard to get back into the swing of my business, and even went to see my secret supplier for a short while on Saturday to check whether there were any good goods left over from the special event on the 27th.  There were (lots of Prada, YSL, Manolo Blahnik, even some Louboutin), but my heart just wasn't in it.  I ended up buying a pair of flats for myself that I was seriously needing and putting a pair of shoes on hold for a friend of mine.

There were about three or four other places I should have visited to complete the rounds but my son was invited to a birthday party and I couldn't resist considering how cute I knew he would look in his penguin costume.  I did put in a few hours today shopping for some of my favorite clients, but I rarely find good deals online.

Finally, I've still got two pairs of Louboutins on eBay that haven't sold - one because they're a small size (6.5) and one because it's a wedge (people who pay over $300 for a pair of shoes generally want you to be able to tell they paid $300 for a pair of shoes - you can't see the red soles on the wedges).  I've also got a pre-owned Gucci bag for sale, so we'll see how I do this week.  Nothing like a good bidding war to get the adrenaline pumping again. :)

Good night, everyone!  Wish me luck on my first full week back!

On Hiatus

Hey guys!  I know, I know, it's been a while.

I'm going on a short hiatus from the blog.  I'll still be working on my projects over this weekend and for those of you working with me I will have updates on Monday.  After that I'm going on a business trip to Mexico City so I'll kind of be out of pocket.

Unfortunately my business trip is going to put a serious damper on my shopping activities.  My secret supplier invited me to a super special event to celebrate their new arrivals on October 27th.  I was invited to come to the store 1 hour before opening to get my pick of the best stuff.  Sadly I will be in Mexico that day so no special event for me.  Hopefully there will be SOMETHING left for me to buy after I return even if I can't go on the first day.  Ack.

Wish me luck and I'll speak to you all soon!

Props to My Lovely, Lovely Client and Her Handsome Beau

Remember my wedding client I was telling you guys about?  Here she is, in all her splendor!  Isn't she booo-tiful?  And you know that purdy dress she's wearing?  Guess who got it for her! :)

Congratulations to the lovely couple!

I Think There's Something Wrong With My Business Model

I was out shopping today for one of my special projects when I came upon this pair of beauties at a Barney's outlet near my house -picture courtesy of Net-a-porter.  There are Christian Louboutin Gres Mule 70 sandals in gold.  They were $266 including tax.  I considered buying them to post on eBay for a minute, since they were a pretty popular style in the Spring/Summer line and I was fairly confident I could sell them.  If I had decided to buy them I would have listed them on eBay at first as an auction for a starting bid of  $319, which would have enable me to roughly break even, if not make a couple of bucks.  If I had sold them to client, depending on their budget, I would have sold them for about $315, for a $50 profit.

I decided not to get them because I'm trying to be careful with our cashflow, I have about six projects I'm slowly working through right now, and while I knew I would get paid for them I didn't know WHEN.  However, when I get home I decided to do a little research on them I found out that had I listed them on eBay for the price I mentioned they would have BY FAR been the cheapest pair in this style and color.  Other sellers have them for $499.  Net-a-porter is selling them for over $700.

This isn't the first time this has happened, although it kind of makes me wonder.  Am I SO GOOD at this that I manage to find these items for a much better price than everyone else, OR are other sellers pocketing $150 to $200 per item while I drive 100 miles every weekend and spend HOURS on my computer for a measely $50?

One way or another I have to look into this because I'm clearly under pricing my items, and potentially missing out on a much bigger profit opportunity by doing so.

100% Sell Through This Week

I had four pairs of shoes for sale this week and they all sold! Woo-hoo!!  The includes the LAST remaining pair from my original foray into luxury shoes.  You konw, the pair from the extremely expensive designer no one's ever heard of that are super impractical and I paid way too much for.  I took a $140 loss, but hey, such is life.

Not Your Mama's eBay?

I don't really have that much to say about eBay anymore.  Is that a turn off for you guys?  The thing is, most of my business now is coming from personal shopping.  I have an average of 5 to 7 projects in any given month, and that makes me just as much money as selling on eBay used to... except it's better, because it's a guarateed sale, whereas with the eBay merchandise I STILL have two pairs of shoes that I'm going to have to pay people to take from me!  It's ironic, but now that I'm a Powerseller and have Top Seller status I list half as much as I used to because 75% of the time I buy something it's for someone specific.

The problem with the personal shopping is that I can't talk about it as much as I do eBay.  I'm sure people don't want me blabbing about their personal purchases, and besides, going into detail about my projects involves revealing trade secrets about how I do what I do.  Yes, I've given you guys tips and the like but it's not the same as telling you exactly where to look for things and how to get them at a discount.

So it struck me as really ironic that this blog is called Not Your Mama's eBay but I never really write about eBay anymore!  I'm going to have to think up some eBay-related thing to tell you guys about, otherwise I'll be forced to change the name of my blog. :)  Hopefully a few of the things I'm selling this week will atually sell.  Maybe they'll sell for a terrible price and THEN I'll have a fun story to share with you.  Either that or I'll have to start dipping into my arsenal of personal stories to keep you all around.  One way or another I'll have a lot more to talk about next week!

Sharing the Magical Shopping Powers - Family Style

As I mentioned in my last post, my parents are visiting this weekend, so things have been a little more hectic than usual.  What I didn't mention is that my two brothers and my one sister are here as well, since we're celebrating my dad's 61st birthday this weekend.

Some of my very earliest shopping memories involve going to Dadeland Mall in Miami with my mom and my sister for our biannual "there is absolutely nothing to buy in Nicaragua because we're a crappy communist country" international shopping excursion.  This weekend my mom, my sister and I reprised our shopping trips of yore by embarking on a tri-state shopping tour - Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC.  Ok, we only passed through Washington, DC, but tri-state sounded so much cooler.  Not that DC is a state, but anyhow... I took my mom and sister to all the places I go shop either for eBay or for my personal shopping projects.  I brought along all my coupons, discounts and invitations to special events.

We covered a grand total of 240 miles spread out across 2 days.  Shoes were our main focus, although my mom did buy two evening dresses and my sister got a handbag and some running shorts in addition to her three pairs of shoes.  I picked up a handbag for a special project, but as usual, nothing for myself.

Anyway, the real point of the story is about the shoes below.  Many people think they can get the best deals on shoes and clothing online.  I cringe every time I hear one of my friends say they bought something on Bluefly, Endless or Zappos.  I took my sister to one of the places I regulalry shop.  It was one of the shoe warehouse places - you know the kind, nothing special, everyone has one within driving distance of where they live.  Well, she picked up the Giuseppe Zanotti shoes you see below for about $175 before tax.  They were 70% off, and they had them in just about every size you can think of.  Fast forward to this morning.  I'm doing a little research on a different pair of shoes, and I come across my sister's shoes on Bluefly.  At a discount.  For $500 plus tax.

We didn't do anything special.  Didn't buy wholesale.  Didn't even use a coupon for God's sake.  All we did was get off our butts to do a little in person shopping in strategically selected places.  That's it.  That's what my magical shopping powers boil down to - patience, research and two well-heeled feet to pound the pavement with.

And if all else fails, if that combination sounds like too much hard work for you, that's what I'm here for.  Give me a holler!

I Think I Died and Went to Shoe Heaven

I got here yesterday and I'm leaving within the next hour, but I couldn't come to California and not go check out a new secret supplier.  After my business meeting today I drove about an hour south of the city today to visit an outlet in this area.  I didn't think it would be worth it, but wanted to give it a shot.

HOLY BONANZA, Batman!  I've never seen so many cheap red soles together in the same place.  AND I made friends with the shoe section manager, who said she would keep me updated on new styles that come into the store.

Woohoo!!

Back Stateside and Busier than Ever

Those of you who are Facebook friends of the blog have already met my new white patent Christian Louboutin Joli Noeuds.  I brought back one more, less exciting but more practical friend from Italy: a pair of Tory Burch Reva Gabi ballerina flats in a size 7.  I'll admit, these were supposed to be for me, but in typical fashion I convinced myself in the store that they fit perfectly, given how inexpensive they were, and then realized back my hotel room that no matter how much I liked these I am NOT a size 7.  I also have a VERY high arch, inherited from my mom, which makes it difficult for me to wear flats.

In any event, I got them for such a steal that I've decided to put them in my store inventory closet rather than my personal closet.

Now that we're done with introductions, I have to tell you my re-entry to the US has been extremely smooth.  Already my little helper (my son) and I ventured out to as yet underdiscovered venues, which helped convince me that I already knew all of the venues worth knowing.  Fortunately my little helper was extremely well behaved and didn't knock over any racks of shoes, but now the poor baby is sick with a runny nose and a fever so he's going to have to sit today's shopping trip out.

This week is going to be a fairly busy ones, which means I might neglect the blog a bit while I sort myself out.  I'm going to San Francisco on a business trip Monday night, and then my parents are coming in on Wednesday and staying for almost a week.  Should anything exciting happen, though, I'll be sure to let you guys know!

Special Report - Madrid Shopping Experience

Madrid, much like Milan and Florence, must be a nice place to shop during the sales season.  I have to be honest with you all.  I'm very proud of my magic shopping powers and all week I have been feeling a little bit like Superman on the planet Krypton.  That is to say, I'm not familiar with the stores, with the currency and with the modus operandi so I have no idea where to go to get the kinds of deals I can get in the US.  The retail price difference and VAT refund are not enough to make most purchases worth it.  Yes, I've saved a few dollars here and there on European designer goods, like a tie I bought for my husband that was $50 cheaper here, but in general the savings are relatively small compared to the price of the items.

I did find one thing that might be worth buying in Europe to resell in the U.S., and that is Louis Vuitton handbags.  I was looking into the Louis Vuitton Neverfull for a client of mine and after the tax refund the smallest of the Neverfull series is about $150 cheaper here than in the us.

Anyway, hopefully once I get back home and away from the kryptonite on this planet my magic shopping powers will return and I can carry on doing what I've been doing.  Unfortunately my flight home is delayed and I will probably get home too late to hit the outlets, but hey, there's always the weekend!

See you soon, everybody.

Special Report - Italian Outlet Shopping Results

After a long day that involved combing through rows and rows of Prada, Miu Miu, Gucci, Valentino, Dior, Fendi, Balenciaga and YSL, among others, I have finally arrived in Milano and the verdict is in: the outlets in Tuscany are very disappointing.

My cousin Valentina and I woke up very early this morning - at 7 AM - and got ready for the 2.5 hr drive from the outskirts of Rome to the outskirts of Florence, heading first for the Prada outlet "Lo Spaccio" in Montevarchi and then for the luxury outlet shopping center "The Mall" in Leccio Regello.  I had heard great things about Lo Spaccio and also had great expectations given my previous experience with Italian outlet shopping.  I come to Italy relatively often and had visited the Tod's outlet in Casettedete before, having successfully obtained a pair of Tod's flats for about $100.

I must preface this by saying that the Italian sales season ended not one week ago, and had that still be going on I would probably have been telling a very different story.  But the sad truth, as I told my sister in my live report over Blackberry Messenger today, is that I could have done better than the prices I saw today at the outlets I frequent in the US.  The cheapest pair of shoes I saw at Lo Spaccio were about $200 for a pair of Miu Miu platforms, which is not bad considering, but every time I got excited about a pair of shoes they didn't have the size I was looking for.  Furthermore the bags were beyond hideous and expensive on top of that.

The Mall, on the other hand, which I expected to be grossly overrated, had moments of great promise.  There were a few leather Gucci bags for less than $300, but they were outlet quality and frankly did not look the part. Valentino had some amazing shoes for about $150 but not in the correct sizes.  Burberry was outrageously expensive but had a great selection.  In every store I visited there was some sort of but.

Finally, after six hours of desperately trying to find something worth buying, both for the people who made special requests and well as for reselling on eBay, I had to walk away empty handed.

But all is not lost!!  During the late afternoon my cousin dropped me off at an outlet where they sell Louboutin shoes before heading back into Rome and before my scheduled departure for Milan.  It was there that I finally found something I'm sure will come in handy for SOMEONE.  A pair of Louboutin Jolie Noed Dorcet shoes (pictured above) in white patent in a 36.5 for an incredible price.  I found a few other Louboutin gems but purchased only this one due to financial constraints.  I would still like to find things to bring back for my personal shopping clients and I'd like to conserve some cash or credit to go hunt those things down tomorrow after my business meeting.  After all, I am in the fashion capital of Europe.  I'm sure I can dig something up at a decent price!

Buona Notte!  Vado a dormire! (Good night - I'm off to sleep!)

Buona Sera from Italy

Ciao! Come va?

Today is my fourth day in Italy and my first day on the mainland.  I spent a few days in Sicily for my cousin's wedding and now I'm slowly making my way back to civilization.  I've yet to do any work shopping, since there's really not much selection in Sicily, but the one store I stepped into in Agrigento was very, very promising.

While I have access to a computer I wanted to let you guys know something very exciting happened to me this week.  Lisa, one of my clients and the author of a great blog called Fantabulously Frugal, wrote a post about her experience working with me.  Needless to say I'm thrilled to bits Lisa had a good buying experience and I wanted to thank her for writing about me by referring you guys to her blog.  Please, while I'm away and not writing very much, visit Fantabulously Frugal and show Lisa lots of love!!

In other news, I'm going to the outlets on Monday, so if you hang around here then I might be able to do a mini virtual sample sale, if they'll let me take pictures of the merchandise.  More on that as my plans evolve.

Arrivederci!

Off to Europe Tomorrow

My sister gave me this GREAT idea to do an "online sample sale" from Italy while I'm at the outlets.  I'll let you guys know whether it's logistically possible.

Wish my luck on my trip. It's the first time I've left my son for this long. :(

I hope those damn shoes are worth it.

A Long Overdue Confession Regarding My Snobbery

I've learned a few things about myself since I started this micro-business.  Things I already knew, but had managed to ignore since starting my downward spiral to brokedom in 2005.

I'm a shoe snob.  A horrible, awful, snooty, obnoxious, superficial shoe snob.  Of the worst kind.  The problem is I'm a BROKE horrible, awful, snooty, obnxious, superficial shoe snob, so I have no choice but to turn up my nose at my own snobbery.  Interestingly enough, I'm only this way with shoes, and to a certain extent with bags, but not with clothes.

As you can see, the eBay store is a little empty these days. It's been getting more and more difficult to find good inventory, and with the trip to Italy coming up I've been wanting to save up all my cash flow to see how low I can go with some of my favorite desginers.  Today I went to a new Nordstrom Rack that opened near where I live, and frankly, I was disgusted.  "Not a single 'real' designer in the designer section," I thought to myself.

Which made me remember what a snob I am.  But it also begs the question: what is a "real" designer??

Here's my definition:

1) European. There are no "real" American designers when it comes to shoes and bags, as far as I'm concerned.  Sorry, Michael Kors.  Sorry, Kate Spade.  Not premium enough.

2) Exclusivity. You can't find their stuff at every Marshalls and TJ Maxx in the United States of America.  Again, sorry Michael Kors. Strike two.

3) Price. I can't afford their shoes at retail, or even on SALE, unless I scheme, plot and hoard coupons for weeks. Or take advantage of a newbie seller on eBay.  And even then once I do we have to eat quesadillas until my next paycheck.

As I write this, I also realize that every pair of shoes in my closet - except the three pairs I've got for sale on eBay - fall significantly short on all three criteria.  But that's ok.  As much of a snob as I am, I've also come to realize that I'm not what I own or what I can afford.

That doesn't mean we don't have a few rounds of quesadillas coming our way after Italy, though.  Wink wink.

The Recipe for Magic Shopping Powers

One of my clients, Christopher, was kind enough to leave a comment on this post referencing my "magic shopping powers" for digging up designer goods at good prices.  To be fair, I dig them up at ludicrous prices and then resell them for good prices, but that's besides the point. 

I will preface this by saying, as I think I did one of my previous posts, that what makes me good at the shopping game is I do research for a living.  But.  There's really no voodoo behind my shopping powers, nothing any one of you couldn't do with a little patience and some experience.  Nothing I sell has fallen off the truck, nor have I gotten it anywhere you guys wouldn't be allowed to go.  In my post about never paying retail I revealed some of my tricks. Here are a few others that complete the recipe:

• Shop around, online and off.  Figure out which stores are good for what.  Figure out when the big sales events are and plan your big purchases around those events.  Know how much things generally cost - otherwise how will you be able to tell whether something is a bargain or not??  Sure, those $200 shoes I sell still seem expensive to you but think about it: 1) Everything I sell is at least 65% off, which means those $200 shoes were over $500 when they first hit the rack; 2) I obviously didn't buy them for $200, otherwise I should have my MBA immediately revoked; 3) I forgot where I was going with this, but the point is the BIG bargains are out there but you'll never find them if you don't know what they look like.
• Get cash back.  Sign up for a cash back program, such as BigCrumbs or Ebates.  If you click through their links while you shop for the things you would have bought anyway, they will give you anywhere between 1% and 5% cash back, depending on the store.  You accumulate the cash back in your account until a predetermined, regularly-established payout date when they tranfer the money into your Paypal account or send you a check.  If you'd like me to refer you and walk you through the sign-up process feel free to email me.
• eBay is your friend.  It's full of desperate people who have made impulse buys and now just want to get some of their money back.  It's also full of other people like me who have visited stores and outlets where they had inventory that wasn't available at the stores and outlets YOU visited.  So in a sense, eBay is a like six degrees of separation of shopping.  Through eBay, there are only a few degrees of separation between you and the Chanel outlet in upstate New York, even though you're in Florida.
• Sign up for the online sample sales.  You know the ones - Gilt, The Sample Sale, Envite, RueLala, etc...  Their emails are incredibly annoying, but they do have some incredible bargains sometimes!
• Finally, and this applies mostly to shoes, whatever you see at Zappos, DSW and Bluefly is sitting at an outlet somewhere at almost half the price, just waiting for you to get out there and find it.

That being said, please keep asking me to get stuff for you!  I promise Italian shopping does not disappoint.  I leave on Tuesday.  I'm sure there's SOME European luxury item you've been dying to get.  Come on, you can tell me... I won't tell anyone...

Eye HEART My Customers

Dear Buyers,

How do I love thee?

Let me count the ways.

I appreciate thee more than I can really say,

thanks, Anna Shoesmitten, for sending this modeling pic and making my day.

Love,

Elisa

aka

Elisav

Notyomamasebay

Going Italian Oulet Shopping - And Taking Orders!

Ok so I've been holding out on you.  Remember I told you guys in this post about my Italian father?  Well, I have a lot of family in Italy, and one of my favorite Italian cousins is getting married, so I'm heading over to the old country after a long three year absence to watch my crazy cousin Gianluca get hitched.

Aaaanyway, since my husband and son are staying home for financial reasons, I'm going to take advantage of a couple of days of my trip to hit some of the key Italian outlets.

Every day I move further away from an eBay-only sales strategy toward a personal-shopping based model, so if you haven't ordered anything from me yet, here's your chance!  Some of the outlets I will have access to are:

• Gucci
• Prada / Miu Miu
• Louboutin
• Tods
• Zanotti
• Rumor has it there is a Louis Vuitton outlet but I don't know where it is
• Any others you guys want to send me to

The Italian outlets are a shopper's paradise.  I visited the Tods outlet in Casette d'Ete with one of my cousins a few years ago, back when Tods was the "it" brand of the year, and got a pair of Tods loafers for $88.  So if you think of anything you'd like me to pick up for you my email address is in the "About Me " box on the left side of the page.  Feel free to use it!

My Alter Ego is Making Some Money...

... and she's getting good feedback too!  I've made about $65 so far with my second eBay account (the one for selling pre-owned, non-designer stuff - and my stash of ugly gifts) and have 100% positive feedback.  Ok, so I've only got 5 feedback so far but still!  This account is really easy to manage because I don't worry as much about all the TINY details of packing and sending people's stuff.  I don't stress if I don't send the item RIGHT THIS SECOND but rather the next business day just like I've stipulated in the listing.  I don't accept returns and I don't stress about listing items that are less than perfect as long as I've disclosed it.  In fact, I recently sold a cashmere sweater with a hole in it.  The lady who bought it LOVED it.  She didn't care about the hole!  All she cares about is she got an awesome cashmere sweater for $16.

So, all in all, things are good for anonymous eBay username number two.  Now, I know some of you are really curious to find my alter ego on eBay, but I think I'll keep it to myself for a little while longer.  At least until I sell all the stuff that I don't want my mother-in-law to see. :)

5 Tips for Protecting Yourself While Buying on eBay

While I spend a lot of time talking about my strategies for being a good eBay seller, a comment by one of my clients last week reminded me that the majority of you are not sellers but buyers, and that perhaps a short primer on how to stay safe while buying expensive items on eBay may come in handy.  I may be giving away some trade secrets here because I use my eBay skills to help me get great deals for my personal shopping business, but I figure I can always find SOME way to add value for my clients.

I will preface this by saying that there is no way to eliminate risk in life.  Yeah, trading on eBay can be risky.  So can crossing the street.  Risk is a healthy part of doing business and I consistently take advantage of the risk aversion of other buyers to get deals I wouldn't normally be able to get.  However, there are things you can do to manage risk, and that's what these tips are all about.

1) Check feedback. THOROUGHLY.  Don't rely just on the number of stars the seller has received, or on the percent of good back they've got to their name.  Read the comments people have left.  Read the seller's RESPONSE to buyer comments.  I am much more likely to buy from a seller with negative feedback who resonds politely to the buyer's feedback than I am to buy from a seller that attacks people who have left negatives.  Additionally, don't rely on just the feedback you can see on eBay's site.  Use this site: http://www.toolhaus.org/, to check for negative feedback left more than 12 months ago.

2) Ask for more pictures.  I don't care if the seller already has 25 perfect pictures in the listing.  You always, always, always ask for more pictures, SPECIFIC pictures, to check whether the seller actually has the item in their possesion.  Many scammers post pictures of genuine items that they have stolen from other listings.  Other post only stock pictures of their items that they've gotten from department stores.  Big no no.  It offers absolutely no proof the seller has the item on hand.  Be wary of any seller that won't send additional pictures - they've likely got something to hide.

3) Pay with Your Credit Card.  I especially recommend this for big ticket items.  Have you ever paid for something with your card only to have it stolen right outside the store?  What did you do?  You called your credit card, right?  Paypal has a feature that allows you to pay for your purchase using your credit card balance.  Many credit cards have a liberal chargeback policy, which means you are essentially insuring your item against any problem you might have that eBay and Paypal can't help you solve.  This is only to be used as a last resort, as you should work with both eBay and Paypal to get your money back should, heaven forbid, something go wrong.

4) Get an Expert Opinion on Your Item.  There are free forums out there that will help you authenticate designer goods such as shoes and handbags.  I unfortunately only know of forums for these types of items, since they're the items I trade in, but I'm sure such forums also exist for electronics and the like.  The forum I frequent regularly is The Purse Blog Forum.  They have several authentication threads by designer where buyers can come and ask experts - people who are in regular contact with the type of item in question - for their opinion on an item's authenticity.  This forum has become an invaluable resource for me in my personal shopping business, and has also been instrumental in helping me learn more about the kinds of goods I sell.  Yes, I like designer shoes, clothing and bags, but I don't have the money to spend on them, so I rely on the collective knowledge of this group to help me make purchasing and other business decisions.

5) Develop a Relationship with a Seller.  Like moi. :)  If you don't like the service you get you can come spam my blog.

Good night folks!  Speak to you soon! 

Two Bonanzle Sales in a Row!

Bonanzle is really picking up!  I sold two items on there in the last week, which is VERY exciting since I actually made a profit on one of them and the other has been in inventory for MUCH longer than I'd hoped.  So long, in fact, that I was actually considering keeping it myself.  It was one of the first things I ever bought, and I have to be honest, I made some big buying mistakes with my first lot of item.  While I am making a profit on my new items, I'm also going through the process of "purging" older items that I either paid too much for or there's just not a market for on eBay.

One thing I've come to realize is that online selling works in cycles.  There will be periods where I don't sell anything for weeks on end, and then suddenly three or four buyers will pop up on the same day or on consecutive days.  The other thing I've come to realize is that everything sells eventually, but holding out for an item to sell for the price I want ties up cash flow I could be using to buy things that will sell more easily.  So now whenever I see something's just not moving I either sell it at the break-even price or if I can, take it back to the store.  Seems like common sense, but I waited to long with a few things I bought at the beginning, and then I was stuck!

Anyway, I should probably update my sales figures up there but frankly I'm so disorganized I have no idea how to aggregate all my selling venues anymore!  It was easy when eBay was the only place, now I've got Bonanzle sales and direct sales to take into account as well.  Maybe I'll just round up to $5000 and call it even.  What do you guys think?

Top Rated Seller!

I just got awarded a "Top Rated Seller" badge by eBay!

This designation is given only to Powersellers who meet certain standards of customer service on things like shipping, communication and accurate item descriptions.

I guess all my stressing about customer service actually got me somewhere!  Well, at least with eBay anyway.  Now let's see what buyers think of this stuff.

I'M A POWERSELLER!!

Soooo right after I was saying life was boring and nothing new was going on with eBay I logged on and found THIS next to my user id!

I have no idea what that means for practical purposes, but I know Powersellers get some extra perks like discounts and the like.  This is VERY exciting for me, I feel like I won a medal. :)

I'm definitely going to have to throw a cyber party to celebrate this one!

Running Out of Things to Talk About

With eBay super slow and my need to preserve the privacy of my personal shopping projects, I find myself low on things to talk about in the blog.  I have a couple of offers on some of my eBay stuff and I've actually been seeing some movement on Bonanzle but nothing to write home about.  My personal shopping has been fun.  I'm helping one client get ready for her wedding so that's been exciting.  She's going to look HOT.

That being said I don't want to stop writing in here because I'm afraid of losing the habit, so could I ask you guys to give me ideas on what to write about??  Is there anything you guys are curious about that you want me to cover?

Let me know!

Stuck in the eBay Doldrums

The eBay business has been unbelievably slow lately, although thankfully my "special find" clients have been keeping me busy.  I've been strongly considering toning down the eBay and dialing up the personal shopping lately because frankly I have so much fun on these special assignments it's like I'm not doing any work at all.

This weekend I went on the hunt for a pair of Christian Louboutin pumps for a new client.  The trick with these shoes is that the sizing on them is really inconsistent, and varies wildly by style.... so I just had to try a few pairs on myself so I could get a good sense for which sizes would work and not work. :) I have to tell you, while Mr. Louboutin makes some of the most exquisite shoes I've ever seen, some of his styles leave me kind of cold, while some are downright hideous.  However, when he does it well, he does it very, very well, and I had to give myself a good talking to to keep myself from buying a pair of $600 shoes.

But I digress.  Back to the personal shopping.  As much as I love it, there's definitely a few kinks I have to work out in the business model.  It first started as a service to get people nice things at a discount, taking advantage of my eBay nagivation skills and outlet proximity.  I would then split the discount with the client, keeping part for myself as payment.  The problem with that is that sometimes people ask me for specific things that are hard to find or difficult to get at a discount, in which case I either have to work for free OR not take the assignment because, frankly, I don't feel right asking someone to pay more than retail for something they could have easily have bought for themselves.  In fact I feel very guilty making money off this model at all, but at the same time I don't want to turn someone away knowing I could do something to help them even if I don't get paid.  Some people just don't have the time to go shopping to identify the right article of clothing or the right pair of shoes and are more than willing to pay someone to do it for them.

So this is what I've decided for a process and fee scedule.  First, I ask the client how much they are willing to pay for the item and I do my best to stay under that price.  I calculate a fee for myself that is 10% of the price of the item or a minimum of $30, BUT I try my best to use the tips and tricks I gave you here to come in under what the client is willing to pay even with the commission.  It feels like a win-win, but I'm still having some qualms about whether this is fair.

What do you guys think??  How would you price this service?

Say Hello to Mr. Choo. Jimmy Choo.

Black Jimmy Choo Cutout Pump in 38.5

I went to a store secret supplier I don't normally go to on Weds and found these beauties waiting for me.  I've also just purchased my fourth pair of Louboutins, in shocking pink.  They'll be here sometime next week.  I'll post pictures once I get them. :)

I'm posting these on eBay tonight but as always if any one of you wants them do email me and the blog-reader discount will apply.

Oh yes, and the carpet is back.  I didn't have time last night while my son was wrestling me for the camera and trying to get to the shoes (which he calls "pates" for the Spanish word for shoes - zapatos) to lay out the construction paper.

I Have a Secret

One of the things that's been bothering me all this time as I've transitioned into selling new, premium designer items is that I miss the quick petty cash I used to get from selling more inexpensive used clothing.  The less expensive the item, the easier it is to sell, which essentially amounted to quick pocket change when I first started out.  Now I actually have to worry about things not selling (not a SINGLE one of my items this week has bids), and while I have a pile of pre-owned clothes THIS high to sell I don't want that stuff to mix with my designer stuff.  It just feels weird to have my brother's two year old plaid J. Crew shorts mixed in with my brand new YSL sandals.  The other thing is that now everyone in my family knows about my eBay store and can find it through this blog, so I can't put things up for sale that they would give me crap about selling (like gifts I didn't like).

So.... I opened up another store!!  I haven't listed it anywhere, I don't track it nearly as closely and I don't plan on telling anyone about it so I can list as much crap as I want and not worry about:

1) My reputation being ruined by selling a pre-owned item that I disagree with the buyer about.  I'll be the first to admit my standards aren't super high when it comes to pre-owned clothing, and frankly perceptions vary so widely it's just bound to happen.

2) My mom wandering into my store and seeing that I'm selling the shirt she gave me for 99 cents.

The premise of my new store is that every auction starts at 99 cents, no matter what.  Do you guys remember how fun that was?  Anyway, I've already made $14, and it's looking like I'll close the week with some nice pocket cash for my troubles.  But sorry, I can't tell you where this store is or what it's called, because that would defeat the purpose.

Shhhh.... don't tell anyone.

Has Anyone Seen This Dress??

I'm helping a friend/client find it to wear to a wedding related event. She doesn't recall where she found this picture, but it was online at a blog of some sort.  The dress looks like some sort of chiffon / silk voile with a banded collar, pintuck bodice, self-covered buttons and a pleated knee-length skirt.  It's reminiscent of the 1940's.  The picture looks like it might have been a magazine spread of some sort and frankly, I don't keep up with the fashion mags (I know, shame on me).

I've hit the prerequisite stores online but have found nothing that is exactly right.  I'm going to the physical stores to look for it next, but if you guys see anything that looks like this, could you let me know??  Thanks!!

I'm Back, and Bigger than Ever

I ate everything under the sun in Mexico City.  I thought for sure my Nicaraguan stomach bacteria would trump the Mexican food and water bacteria.  Boy was I wrong.  Ouch.

Anyway, I got back tonight and I'm having a hard time getting back into my old rhythm with the eBay business.  I'm not compulsively checking my auctions tonight, or "spying" on my visitors with my tracking program.  I'm not creating new listings or thinking about what I'm going to buy next.

Maybe I'll think about all that stuff tomorrow.  I've got a few ideas about how to expand the business, but you guys are going to have to wait to hear them.  Right now I'm off to have a really bland dinner and to play with my son.

On Hiatus for a Week!!

Hey guys, I'm going on a business trip this week and will probably not have time to post.  Just wanted to let you know in case someone other than my son actually missed me!

Thank You for Sticking With Me!

My first post was entitled eBay Startup - The Road to 50, in reference to the little number that appears next to your eBay username totaling the number of pieces of positive feedback you have received.  At that point I had around 25 feedback, and I was still focusing on selling my own pre-owned clothes, as well as my son's.  My goal was to reach 50 points - a prospect that seemed as reachable as the moon.

The big realization came very soon thereafter.  I was making an average profit of $9 per item, and given the constraints on my time unless I could signifiantly increase my profit per item this business wouldn't even pay for a night out at the movies.  That's when I found the Secret Supplier, and started seriously investing in inventory.

That's also around the time I started making new friends. I wanted to take a moment to thank some of the people who have been here since the beginning, even though I'm afraid I may inadvertently leave someone important out!  If I do, please call me out on it!

• Allie and MM.  MM is one of the best customers EVER, and one of my first off eBay buyers.  Allie has a fantastic eye for what to put in the store - every item she's suggested or given me to sell my store has been unbelievably popular.  Both have gone out of their way to help me succeed, in more ways than I can count. Thanks for your support, guys!
• Tammy from This Mama Works It. Fellow eBay mama and awesome blogger.  I've learned a TON from Tammy over the last few months.  Still your biggest fan, Tammy!  Thanks for continuing to read after all this time.
• Anna Shoesmitten. Anna is a fellow Guiseppe Zanotti and Christian Louboutin lover and a great customer.  She's been very generous in helping publicize my store, and I just can't say enough good things about her blog!  She also introduced me to Shoehunting.com, just about my favorite site to gawk at shoes!
• My blog readers, known and unknown.  I hope you don't mind my calling you out, but special thanks to "Hollywood Maryland", "Equatorial Guinea" and "Pittsburgh Pennsylvania".  I don't know who you are or how you found me, but you've been around for a very long time and for some inexplicable reason you keep coming back!  Thank you!  I'd also mention "San Jose California" but they haven't come back in a while, and I kind of suspect that was eBay spying on me anyway.  And of course, my friend D, just about the most loyal reader EVER.

Crossed Successfully into the Hundreds

I reached 100 feedback tonight.  I received my tourquoise star (although I have to say, I kind of like the color of the blue star better).

I know I said we would celebrate this occasion when the time came, and we will!  But tonight I've just gotten home from work, I'm stressed out about a work trip to Mexico I'm doing next week, and I really just need to get to bed.

Good night, folks, and happy 100 to me!

Taking eBay Out of the Equation

So along the lines of my post regarding my sales, I was equally astounded today to log into my account and discover that I owe eBay nearly $300 in seller fees.  It's not that I don't incorporate eBay fees into the price of my items, it's just that it irritates me that if I could lower my prices by HALF of what eBay charges me I could sell things twice as quickly, give two times the discounts and make twice as much money.

I'll give you an example.  I recently bought a Gucci bag that I intended to keep for myself.  Mistake.  It's white.  I have a two year old son.  You see where I'm going with this.  I got a really good price on the bag, but in order to recover my costs I have to sell it for 20% more than I paid for it on eBay, whereas on Bonanzle I would only pay $5 to complete the transaction.

As the summer comes to an end and the Fall merchandise starts to roll in it's becoming more difficult for me to find deals that are good enough to make a profit on eBay.  I keep thinking that if I ever do decide to turn this into a formal business I need to find a way to take eBay out of the equation but continue to get as many views on my items as I do there.

I thought at first that would be nearly impossible, but I recently bought a subscription to Terapeak and got a free subscription to Sellebrity, an eBay reearch service that allows you to see how many people are visiting your items, where they are located, and which items they're looking at.  On a GREAT day I get about 114 visits total.  On a poor day, like Saturday, I get about 40.  On Bonanzle, on the other hand, I get about 35 visits on a good day, and on this blog I get about 18 people visiting and about 35 page loads, again, on a good day.

I'm not sure that I'm really to take the leap into creating my own virtual store and driving my own traffic.  I don't have the first idea about how to do that, and as much as eBay is clearly not without its risks, I don't know that I would trust an unknown website more than I would trust an eBay seller with excellent feedback.

What do you guys think??  If I set up my own online store and could offer my items at a slightly lower price (which, by the way, I can do off eBay for blog readers), would you buy from me??

In Case You Hadn't Noticed...

...I updated my sales figures in the header at the top of my blog entries.  I kept talking about what a good week last week was.  Here's how good it actually was - I had over $1100 in sales.

I keep waiting for the universe to strike me down or something.  Knock on wood for me.

Check Out What's In Store for Me!

Get it?  "In store"?  Ha ha ha.

I went to replenish my inventory as mentioned (thanks for all the suggestions, by the way.  I could hear the crickets chirping all the way to the mall!) and I got a few things I've had my eye on for a while now.  Unfortunately I don't think I've ever had a shopping trip where I bought so many things for the store that I'm really hoping don't sell so I can keep them for myself.

You ready?  Tell me what you guys think!  Sorry about my creative use of shopping bags in the shoes.  I'm ok with modeling clothes but given the experience I shared in this post, I'm really reticent to model shoes!

Kooba Leather Clutch

Diane Von Furstenberg Maxi Dress XS/S

Sam Edelman Wedges Size 7 (PS: If you like these let me know - I can get them in just about every other size).  I totally bought these for me.  They'll never sell on eBay.

Black YSL Gladiator Strappy Sandals Size 37.5 / 7.5 (another ME purchase, though sadly these probably will sell)

Brown Flat YSL Gladiator Sandals Size 38

There are a couple of other things but I haven't quite figured out how to photograph them yet.  I need to take some real pictures of these things for eBay as well, but I'll be listing this stuff tonight.  Cross your fingers that next week is as good sales-wise as last week!

Good Lord, I'm Loaded

I've just had pretty much the best sales week of my entire eBay run, and I've got a ton of money burning a hole in my Paypal account.  I plan on using this money, in addition to a few discounts I've accumulated at major department stores, to replenish my inventory.

My question to you guys is ... what should I get???

Please please please leave me comments about what you would like to see in my eBay store!!

Pretty please?

Thanks, guys.

Having a Great Auction Week!

I don't really have anything super interesting to say tonight.  I'm having a fantastic week with my auctions, so I just wanted to share some of my successes.

I had a couple of Coach bags left over from a special project I took on a couple of weeks back, and since "Coach" is one of the most popular search terms on eBay I figured it would probably help my other auctions if I listed these two bags for a super low price instead of returning them to the store.  I sold one of them today and the other has a bunch of bids, so that's making me feel good about my decision.

I also got a bid on the Christian Louboutin Mary Janes I am selling, and it's high enough for me to make a small profit.  I was starting to be afraid I would get stuck with these shoes, even though they're super hot, just like I got stuck with those AMAZING Dior sandals in my avatar.  I listed those this week, as well - for $9.99!  Thankfully they're up to $60 or so with 2 days to go - although that's still quite a ways from what I paid for them, I figured that's a sunk cost at this point and I really need to get some of my money back to invest in other items.

Finally, I had taken on a T Bags maxi dress to sell for a friend and I'm happy to report she got a GREAT price for it.  It sold to someone in France for $150.  Apparently these maxi dresses are HOT on eBay, so I went and got the two I modeled for you earlier.

Oh, one last thing!  I'm having my monthly Bonanza tomorrow in my Bonanzle booth!  I know you guys are probably sick of my stuff and have seen it a million times, but stop by and say hello!  It's http://www.bonanzle.com/booths/notyomamasclothing.

Good night!

I think my next move may be a career in modeling...

I think a picture speaks a thousand words, don't you?

My Buyers Rock - Customer Appreciation Post!

How can you guys resist this hotness? What style! What shoes! And she got a great deal on them, too. :)

Thanks for the pic, RB!  Keep rocking those L.A.M.B's!

Can You Say "Value Proposition"?

I've been thinking about the term "value proposition" a lot.  After I wrote that post last week about why I wouldn't quit my job and turn this venture into a "real" i.e. formal business, I started chatting with a friend of mine who also happens to have a business degree about what it would take to turn what I do into a real, scalable business.  That's definitely an idea I want to explore further, but I'm going to leave that for another post.

 

All this thinking about turning my side job into a real business has got me thinking about my "value proposition."  One thing we talk about a lot at my "real" job is whether firms set their customers' expectations, or whether customers have intrinsic expectations that they bring from their experiences with other companies.  To that end, I've been wanting to post my "value proposition" on my eBay "Me" page to help give my customers an idea about what to expect when they interact with me.

Some of the things I look for in sellers, and I pride myself on providing, are:

• 1) I respondly very promptly to questions and any other type of communication.  I never go more than 24 hours without responding to a buyer's email - usually it's no more than 2.
• 2) When a buyer pays me, I acknowledge their payment and let them know when their package will be shipped.  There is nothing more frustrating than buying something and then hearing absolutely nothing until the thing arrives.
• 3) On eBay, I leave positive feedback immediately after receiving payment.
• 4) I don't charge more for shipping than it actually cost me.  If the buyer has overpaid, I do a partial refund and send them money back, even if it's cents.
• 5) On eBay I promise to ship within 2 business days, but I usually ship as soon as possible after I receive payment.  Sometimes it's the same day, most times when I receive payment while I'm at my day job it's the following morning.
• 6) I keep an eye on the tracking and follow up with buyers when it changes to "delivered" to make sure the buyer is happy with what they've received.

Is there anything I'm missing that you think I should be doing but I'm not?  What are your expectations when you buy something online?

3 Risks of Buying and Selling Online, Part Deux

Ok, so I kinda left you hanging yesterday with my lame post.  Sorry.  It's just that the title of today's post - the risks of buying and selling online - have been on my mind lately.

During the last few weeks I've been participating in an online forum called the Purse Blog Forum.  The Purse Blog Forum originally started as a place for handbag lovers to come and discuss their addiction of choice - Chanel, Balenciaga, LV, Gucci, Fendi, Prada, etc etc...  It's grown to be a fairly large online community that also accommodates shoe lovers, jewelry lovers, and avid shoppers in general.

There is a section in the Purse Blog Forum dedicated to buying and selling on eBay.  It seems like every other day (more like every day) a thread will pop up detailing how some poor unfortunate buyer or seller was defrauded through eBay or Bonanzle.  Reading the stories makes me feel very vulnerable to the risks I'm taking, but it's almost like the proverbial accident on the interstate - I can't stop looking.

Granted, as a seller I am probably less of a target for scams than I would be as a buyer.  However, I've chosen to take certain risks that leave me open to being taken.

In general, I've come to the conclusion that if I really want my business to grow, and if my focus is on maximizing sales while minimizing costs, I have to continue to take some risks, with a few safeguards.  Here are the things I will and will not do while trading online:

1) The Nature of My Items.  Though I have found some AMAZING deals on more expensive items, I tend to limit my online inventory to items I am fully prepared to lose.  My mental limit is $300.  All businesses are exposed to risk, and while I have not had any problems I am fully aware that I might lose one of my items at any point.  $300 is the most I am willing to risk in an eBay transaction - as measured by what I paid for the item, not how much the buyer paid me.  The exception to this is when I am trading OFF eBay with some of my non-eBay clients - but for the most part these are people I know and trust.

2) Shipping Abroad.  Being a foreigner myself, I find it slightly offensive that some sellers would consider it more risky to sell abroad, and refuse to do it altogether.  Some of them won't even ship to Canada.  Given what I've already said in point number 1, I will ship nearly anywhere using Priority Mail with tracking and signature confirmation.  About a third from my sales have come from abroad, and I'm not about to lose a third of my sales!

3) Buying and Selling Off eBay.  eBay is very fond of scaring people into not doing off-eBay transactions.  I personally think it's a bunch of hooey - all they want is their fees.  Of course, certain precautionary measures have to be taken.  As a buyer, request an invoice with a description of the item, and pay with Paypal using your credit card.  If something goes wrong, try to get your money back through Paypal but if worse comes to worse, do a chargeback on your credit card.  As a seller, you're probably a lot less likely to get ripped off off eBay, because ON eBay buyers have all the power.

4) Accepting Returns.  The number one scam perpetrated toward sellers is the "bait and switch" - buying a real item, exchanging for a fake.  It goes something like this: Buyer says: Thanks, I got the item but it's not what I wanted, if you don't let me return it I will give you a negative.  Seller says: Fine, send the item back and I will give you a refund.   Buyer sends fake item.  Seller says: This isn't the same item I sent you.  eBay says: Too bad seller, you have no way of proving that.  Send the buyer a refund!  From my perspective this can happen whether you openly accept returns or not (and also - remember point number one).

I know it's only a matter of time before I have a negative eBay experience, but I think it comes with the territory.  If and when it does happen, believe me, you will be the first to hear about it!