The Chatter Newsletter

Author Alyssa Ettinger - Photo courtesy of Jennifer Levy

Striking gold with a cookie mold
Alyssa Ettinger's first eBay experience was so exceptional that eBay became an immediate part of her daily life. A few years ago, she discovered some vintage cookie molds at a yard sale, and bought three of them for 10 cents each. “I had a feeling when I bought them that they were worth a bit more than that, but I had no idea if they were worth $5 or $25,” she recalls. She didn't think much more about it until one day she listed one on eBay, thinking that her starting bid – $9.99 – was a bit optimistic.

A week later, the mold sold for $122.50.

“Not a bad return on a 10-cent investment,” laughs Alyssa who, not surprisingly, was hooked on eBay ever since.

eBay – the perfect “home” page
eBay was the perfect venue for Alyssa to fulfill her lifelong passion for collecting items for home décor, especially vintage linens, fabrics, lace, and cloths. “Of all the things I collect – and there are many – textiles have to be my favorite. I love feeling the fabric between my fingers – I'm awed by the handiwork put into so many vintage pieces.”

Back when she experienced her first eBay success with the cookie molds, Alyssa was a freelance writer/editor for magazines like Rosie and All Woman, specializing in home décor, crafts, and remodeling. Freelance writing isn't always the most lucrative of careers, so Alyssa started selling regularly on eBay to make some extra money.

As she spent more and more time finding fabulous home décor items on the eBay site, Alyssa realized that here was a perfect opportunity to combine two of her best skills–her expertise in home décor and her flair for writing–with her love for eBay. A few weeks ago Alyssa's first book, The eBay Home Makeover, was published.

A perfectionist's book
Both a sourcebook and an ideas book, The eBay Home Makeover, is a comprehensive guide to decorating your home, all via eBay. There are tips and tricks on finding smart buys on eBay, easy-to-do makeover projects, and decorating advice from an interior design pro. In addition, the book also has a comprehensive buyer's guide with over 140 sources to show you where to go for the best deals on eBay.

Alyssa is excited at being able to share her knowledge about eBay and home décor to a wider audience. For her, decorating is not about making home décor showcases. It's more about creating living spaces that are individual yet comfortable. "I'm a huge fan of creating a cozy and comfortable environment that I want to keep coming back to at the end of a long and hard day," she says. "And eBay is the perfect place to find items that appeal to everyone's unique tastes"

"You can find everything from vases to large furniture pieces, usually at a fraction of the cost if you were to purchase it in a store," Alyssa says, adding that eBay is her first shopping resource.

Alyssa is a very demanding buyer, always on a quest to find items that are perfect for herself and her home. For instance, it once took Alyssa nine years to find her dream sofa. When a perfectionist like Alyssa says that eBay is her first shopping resource, it speaks to the wide variety and high quality of items waiting to be found on eBay.

Home décor tips and inspirations
The way information is organized in The eBay Home Makeover will help any home décor enthusiast find what they're looking for, quickly and easily. There's a chapter devoted to almost every aspect of home décor you can think of. Starting with a chapter on Windows and Walls, the book covers key areas like Flooring and Lighting, Furniture, Textiles, and Tabletops. The last chapter, Art and Objects, deals with something that's dear to every decorator's heart – giving interiors a personal touch.

Extending her decorating flair to the print medium, Alyssa arranges elements throughout the book designed to offer inspiration and advice to get you started. These include:

• Do-it-yourself inspirations – This section will encourage readers to rethink and reinvent. Alyssa has step-by-step illustrated instructions and talks about the tools decorators will need to finish simple projects. Most of these projects can be completed in one weekend, and cost no more than $50.

• Decorating tips – Interior designer Tracy Bross (who contributes decorating articles to magazines like Oprah Home, Quest, and Home Style) brings her vast experience styling homes to provide expert insights and professional tips on how to combine all your furniture and design elements into a stylish décor. Ranging from how to create a room plan to how to paint furniture, these tips can make anyone a savvy decorator overnight.

• Dream room makeovers – Here you can share in the home décor adventures of the five finalists in eBay's Dream Room Contest. The incredible way in which these members transformed their rooms – in just four weeks and with a budget of only $2,500 – proves that you can do it. From leather club chairs to lava lamps, from Persian rugs to Pottery Barn sconces, these finalists found all their items on eBay.

• Buyer's Guide – Many people don't realize that there are dozens of retailers selling their merchandise through eBay every day. The Buyer Guide section showcases over 100 of eBay's best sources for home décor items. Included are details like the seller's eBay User ID, a detailed description of their products, and coverage of payment options – all to help you shop on eBay effectively.

Making it personal

Ettinger's buying guide touches on all areas of your home

The book is also full of Alyssa's personal stories about her own home décor projects and collecting experiences. Ranging from funny to slightly strange, these stories highlight the pleasures of stumbling across unexpected treasures in your hunt for items to make your home cozy and comfortable.

“One day, while surfing eBay, I started searching on a lark for things using my last name, 'Ettinger,' as the keyword," Alyssa shared. "I knew there were some artists with the name but had no expectations of where else the search might lead me. I was more than delighted when my eBay Search email arrived with news of a couple of beautiful seltzer bottles from the Ettinger Bottle Works in Brooklyn, NY. Even though there's no known familial connection between me and the company, the Ettinger seltzer bottles, in a very personal way, lend a sense of history to my home. I have set up an eBay Favorite Search for my name that tells me, a few times a week, what ‘Ettinger' items are up for sale.”

Alyssa writes with an easy confidence that shows her authority on the nuances of home décor as well as the intricacies of eBay. Within these pages you'll find tips on caring for wicker hampers in close proximity with advice on using different keywords to search eBay for handkerchiefs. From learning about space planning to buying fabric sight unseen, you can find it all in The eBay Home Makeover.