EBay: Was it worth the wait?

Hmmm? Yes. But not for the reason I thought it would be. Initially, I really had imagined that every item I posted for auction would sell. For something. Even a tiny amount. (I told you I was a newbie!) However, out of 3 auctions, only the first one was successful, and that was selling a universally "in demand" product of anti-virus software. My 2nd and 3rd auctions were for shoes, and though similar items had shown some market demand, neither item drew any bids. After the last two auction efforts, I definitely took a step back and reflected on how much more time and money (a small fee for inserting the item into the auction) I wanted to "risk". Though I enjoyed the creative writing of the ads for the auctions, to do the research, take the photo, write the ad copy, figure out the shipping costs and post the auction was an investment of my time. If after 7 days that "investment" didn't result in a successful auction, it was time wasted. Of course, I always had the option to relist the item (for an additional fee) and try again. However, instead of trying anything else right away on EBay, I decided to look into their partner site: Half.com.

If you are not aware of Half.com, it is a marketplace that allows you to sell your books, cd's and DVD's. It differs from EBay in that it is not an auction, you do not have to pay a listing fee, and the item you list for sale stays online until it either sells or you decide to take it out of your inventory. When you list the item, you decide on the selling price. As far as the shipping, you do not set the fee, but are reimbursed by Half.com for a specified amount. Once the item sells you pay a very small commission. Having several books and CD's to sell, I thought "why not". Listing on Half.com seems so much easier with the format they provide as compared to listing on EBay. Actually, when I listed my first few items, because there were many of the same items already listed by others, I wondered how long it would be before I would sell anything. Surprisingly, not long! Within the first week of listing some books, I made a sale! After that item had been shipped, I listed a few more CD's and within another week or so, I made 2 more sales. Now, I'm not saying that I'm making sales everyday, but, I'm very satisfied with how Half.com works and will continue to list books, cd's and eventually DVD's to sell. If you are curious, you can see what I'm selling here. It's so easy to set up a "store" online, you might want to give it a try yourself!

With Half.com, I'm not only a seller, but a buyer as well! And at a bargain! While in a "discount" bookstore recently, I spied a title of a book that I was interested in. I jotted down the title and their sticker price, went home, looked it up on Half.com, and found a brand new, in the shrink wrap edition for $1.50 less (including shipping & handling), and ordered it!

So, to answer my title question, EBay was worth the wait. Had it not been for my "good but not great" experience on EBay, I probably would not have gone on to discover, what has turned out for me to be the successful selling opportunities of Half.com.

Some things work good for some. Other things work better for others.
But you never know, until you try, what's going to work best for you!