097: So You Wanna Sell On eBay - Gina Muff

  Gina Muff is an avid listener of eBay Radio and claims it helped her develop and grow her eBay business - ClassySoles. Gina lives in a rural area with the closest Wal-Mart 2 hrs away. Her location presents challenges to selling online, but hasn't prevented her from becoming an eBay Top Rated Seller and Powerseller. Gina developed an interest in classic, quality shoes at a very young age while shopping with her mother. Interesting Notes Gina lives in the Northeast corner of New Mexico. It is close to Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas. The closest thrift store, she can get to get real thrifting is 3 to 5 hours away. Gina started selling stuff because people who have stuff that they do not want, gave it to her. It was not as a consignment, though. People knew that Gina could sell it. It did not enter into her mind that it would be a kind of a business. About 5 years ago, she went to a tiny thrift store about an hour and a half away from their area. It had a pair of rare, European shoes sold for $50. She had never been thrifting before. It piqued her interest to see a pair of shoes for $50 only. From there on, if she saw a little something she would pick it up and sell it. That is how she started to build her eBay business. She would go thrifting the entire day or overnight. Last year, she got connected with somebody whom she bought racks of clothes from. Up to this day, she still lists those things. Unless those are listed, she won't go sourcing. Gina does all the eBay works on her own. The closest town in their area is an hour away. It has only 235 population. The town has a post office, but they only get mails 3 days in a week. The post office delivers and picks up for free. Gina meets midway with her mail-carrier. Gina, as an eBay Top Rated Seller and Powerseller, needs to have a 24 hour turn around time. A lot of her items go Priority Mail. With the availability of the post office, she is able to maintain a 100% feedback. Buyers would often leave a feedback "Fast Shipping", or "Got it so quick!". Gina is not doing consignment. It is either somebody gives her the item for free or she buys it from them. One time she bought something she does not know how to describe. She put it on one of the Facebook Groups. One member identified it as a cross stitch. The item was sold from $1 to $85. Before she lists anything, Gina ensures that she has all the packing and shipping materials ready. So when an item is listed, it is also ready to go. She pulls her sold items a night before because she does not want to scramble the next morning. About 4 or 5 years ago, Gina never heard of Facebook Groups for sellers. There was only eBay radio to her. eBay radio is the single source that helps her stay in touch with what was happening on eBay. She listened to its every single episode. She called them almost every week to ask questions because she has nobody to turn to. It did not cost her a dime to get all the information. Her closest meetup group is in Colorado Springs which is 4 hours away. Advice, Tips, and Tricks In writing descriptions, write only the facts. Short, simple, and no flashy description. Take good photographs. Do what eBay suggested you to do, especially if your stuff is not selling. Join the Facebook Groups where there are knowledgeable and informed people. Those people have so much expertise from so many years of experience on eBay. Learn from them. Gina sees the need to help sellers about eBay's Active Content, that is, having mobile friendly listings. So, she did video tutorials on YouTube. 1. OPTIMIZE EBAY LISTINGS ADD VIEWPORT CODE INCREASE MOBILE SALES 2. ADD MOBILE FRIENDLY VIDEOS TO YOUR EBAY LISTINGS Quotes "There is an interest in the thrill of the hunt!" "You have to enjoy what you are doing. If you are not enjoying it, you should do something else." "We (eBay sellers) work alone. There is nobody else. You are by yourself!" "I feel that you get it all back and more!" "You draw it to you when you can give yourself to other people." Contact Information Website: ClassySoles Sponsors Premium DIY eBay Template M2E Pro ecomdash