The Power of Mentoring Others
by Nino
eBay Staff Member

From the earliest days, eBay buyers and sellers have demonstrated the amazing power of people helping people. Every day, sellers and buyers turn to others in the Community who have “been there and done that” and who can offer help, answer questions, and share tips and tricks for success.

eBay's online Mentoring Program is the latest offering in the Community area, and was developed from the understanding that some members prefer to receive and offer help in small groups or in one-on-one situations. Mentors, who are screened by eBay staff, are very dedicated and experienced members who enjoy helping others succeed on eBay. Embodying the best spirit of the eBay Community, mentors “go the extra mile” to offer long-term assistance to people who need it.

We asked eBay members to share their experiences with the Mentoring Program. Their comments underscore the “power of all of us” – members who come together every day to find solutions for mutual success.

“I started selling on eBay in 2002, mostly a few small things that my son had outgrown. Now we use sales on eBay to raise funds for children with special needs. Our eBay Store needed to be ‘kicked up a notch' so I joined two Mentoring Groups (I discovered them quite by accident through the Groups search). I started in cherbear's HTML group and am now also in ‘eStores – The Basics and More,' hosted by owen*and*emma. I started learning the basics, such as adding a background, changing font color, and getting customers to open a new window. (I always wondered how that was done!)

“Some people in the group are fast learners and have a knack for HTML. I seem to be a bit slow on the uptake and I have a visual disability that sometimes makes the HTML hard to see. But the leaders of these two forums are always patient, kind, and enthusiastic. No matter how many times they need to explain a concept, they keep on explaining until I ‘get it.' They encourage us to support and learn from each other. The best part of these groups is that they are run with a high level of professionalism. There are plenty of places in the eBay Community to swap recipes and jokes, and I belong to a few of those. But when I need a fast, succinct answer to improve my business I know I can depend on the support of these eBay mentors.”

danzamovin, eBay member and Mentoring Program participant

“Being fairly computer literate and somewhat successful in selling via auctions I decided to open a store. Thinking I could do this myself, I soon realized I had no idea where to start, or how to go about it.

“I found the Community area out of the blue and found this great eBay Mentoring Group called ‘eBay Stores: Learn the Basics & More.' Right from the start I was welcomed and realized that I was not the only one with the same questions. I had heard a great deal of the terms before, but never realized I needed them to be successful. Each day I would read, post a few more questions, and go about making small changes to my store.

“Since joining I have learned about branding and color schemes and now have a logo for my store, color scheme to match, and a template that incorporates it all together. I even have business cards to match. I also learned a good amount about Internet domains. I now have two that are similar to my items and have figured out how to forward them to my eBay Store.

“Thanks to all the members and especially to owen*and*emma, our mentor who has helped us all grow. It is so great to see our stores developing as we progress using the many ideas we have all shared with one another.”

doll*clothes, eBay member and mentoring program participant

From the mentor perspective, member cherbear takes pride in the successes of people who joined her mentor groups:

“I have had hundreds of members pass in and out of my Mentoring Groups. Each one has been special to me. Some members just look to get information, while others actually post questions. Some people do not feel comfortable asking for help in a group setting, so they send me email.

“It's great to see that some of my ‘mentorees' are now helping other members in the program. socomom89, one of the members in my group, has done wonderfully well. She learns everything really fast. She has a great talent for helping people with their About Me pages. When I was away with a shoulder injury, she redesigned my About Me page as a present to cheer me up. She did such a wonderful job! I was just so excited. She's so thrilled with her success that she wants to reach out to others. Recently she joined the eBay Volunteers Program, and is waiting for her feedback score to increase to the point where she can qualify to be a Mentor.

“One thing I tell everyone is that you cannot learn everything in one day. It may take months, so work at your own speed.

“I will be here for anything you may need. If I do not know the answer, I will find someone who does.”

cherbear, eBay member and Mentor

We'd like to thank all our eBay Mentors, as well as the many eBay members who help others on eBay's Answer Center, Discussion, and Chat boards every day. For more information about the Mentoring Program, click here.