The Spotlight's On: candances
by Robin
eBay Staff Member

What do vintage dishes, old teeth, and Fire King Mugs have in common? Did you answer something regarding eating or drinking? Nope, not this time. These three items are part of this month's Spotlight member story. We are pleased to introduce to you candances, this issue's "spotlighted" eBay member!

Back in December of 1999, candances first came across the eBay web site when she was searching the web for ways to sell some vintage dishes she had inherited from her mother. She kept running across links to eBay and finally clicked on one of them. The rest is history.

She started selling right from the beginning and has never looked back. She now visits eBay every day of the week, several times a day. Much of the time she's checking to see what is selling well on the site, so she knows what to look for when she's out treasure hunting for items to sell.

According to candances, the most unique item she ever sold were some old teeth with gold fillings. She said she listed them with the Buy It Now option and they sold within minutes.

When asked what type of items she collects, she explained that she did not collect anything before she started selling on eBay. "But after you start selling, you start to catch the bug for collecting. I now collect Fire King mugs, vintage hats and jewelry, and sewing machines. And I don't even sew!"

She has found local eBay members in her own town that sell on eBay as well, and she watches their listings for items she's looking for. "This way I can save money on the shipping by picking up my items and it gives me an edge on other buyers - and I do not have to figure shipping into my costs when bidding."

Describing her selling strategy, candances said, "I have found using the gallery option has helped to increase my sales. You can spend a lot of time opening auctions to find it wasn't what you where looking for. The auction with the gallery photo takes away some of the mystery."

She also has found Turbo Lister to be the most helpful eBay feature or service. "Turbo Lister would be the top of the list. I can simply open previous auctions I have written in Turbo Lister, change the details, and upload them. I don't have to go through several pages to write an auction. In turn, I spend less time writing auctions and more time shopping on eBay."

candances recommends that buyers read an auction's description all the way through and check the seller's feedback before placing their bid. Checking the seller's feedback can give the buyer an idea of what type of person they are dealing with. She also says if the auction is vague about the description, shipping costs, or payment terms, buyers should email the seller first before bidding.

For sellers, she recommends giving complete and accurate information in the auction description. She also says sellers need to be fair with buyers on shipping. "I feel handling charges or excessive shipping can hurt an auction. I even refund the difference to the buyer if I find I have overcharged them on shipping. I did this once with a buyer two years ago, and she is still bidding on my auctions to this date! I made much more money from her as a repeat bidder."

Regarding how her feedback rating has affected her reputation as an eBay seller, she says, "My buyers know they can trust me to fair, quick to respond and to get their items to them intact in a timely fashion. This reflects in my feedback and is very important to my success on eBay."

As we do with every potential "spotlighted" eBay member, we asked candances if she participated on any of our chat or discussion boards. She told us, "I visit the eBay Q & A Board now and then. You can almost always get help somewhere on eBay, be it the Chat, Help, or Discussion -Boards. Be patient if you are visiting a Chat Board for help. You will have to reload the page to see a response and also remember they are just buyers and sellers like yourself. You may have to scroll down to see if someone answered your question as the boards scroll quite fast sometimes. You may feel you are being ignored, but it might be that there is no one online that knows the answer or simply there is a heated discussion going on. Wait a couple minutes and repost your question."

Finally, we asked candances if her life has changed since first visiting eBay and what eBay now means to her:

"Finding eBay has totally changed my life. It has given me a way to make an income when my health did not allow me to work outside the home. Most of my friends I now have all met through eBay, locally and far off.

I have Fibromyalgia, so eBay has given me a way to make an income. There are no jobs out there that I have found besides eBay that allow me to work when I feel good and take a break when I don't. That means more to me than anything. And the bonus is...it is fun!"

We would like to thank candances for sharing her thoughts and comments with us! If you would like to be considered for the Community Spotlight Program check out our Community Profile page and follow the instructions near the bottom of that page.