The Spotlight's On:
armiger
by Ryan
eBay Staff Member

This month's spotlighted member armiger has been an eBay member since February of 2001. armiger originally trained as a mammalogist (a zoologist who studies mammals), and her eBay User ID is derived from the very creature she spent the most time studying: a leaf-nosed, Taiwanese bat whose scientific name is hipposideros armiger terasensis. She now divides her time between science, her family, and eBay.

armiger started on eBay when she was still in graduate school. She was looking for places to find computer parts and accessories, because she always needed extra storage for her research data. A fellow graduate recommended she try eBay. She did and has been a big fan of the site ever since.

At first she bought and sold in the Computers & Networking category, but the birth of her daughter in 2003 led her to begin trading regularly in the Clothing, Shoes, & Accessories category. “First, I bought cloth diapers and clothes for her before she was born. Then I started selling children's boutique cloth and accessories,” she told us.

Now, in her role of mother and “technology geek” for the household, armiger is active in both categories. “I bought about half of my daughter's wardrobe on eBay, and I am constantly looking for new cloth for her.” She also found that eBay was the best place to buy much of her computer parts. “I bought parts to repair my husband's laptop, and extra memory units to boost up our laptops. We have both PC and Macs at home, so our computer systems are tricky to maintain! But I usually find what I'm looking for on eBay.”

armiger says she makes sure to check her listings at least twice a day, but also tries to spend time on eBay whenever she has time to browse the Internet. Keeping a constant eye on listings can become even more important when your buyers are located in a variety of time zones, something armiger is very proud of. “I love international buyers, and welcome bids from around the world on my listings. The international bidding wars that my listings often create are very impressive! I sold a lot of Burberry baby rompers on eBay, and I had buyers from all five continents! And I also made a lot of new friends this way.”

She runs “around-the-world” shipping specials on some of her listings, setting a cap on shipping. This means that no matter how many pieces someone buys from her, they will pay either the actual shipping cost (if it's under the ceiling), or the ceiling cost, which is a maximum she sets. This approach helps her international buyers save money.

Life can get busy being a work-at-home mother, but armiger still tries to spend some quality time on the Community discussion boards. She feels it is a great place to find helpful answers and to share wisdom with other members. “I visit the discussion boards about once a week, and more often if I want help with identifying a cloth piece I'm interested in listing. Discussion boards are free to use and full of helpful members willing to share their wisdom! Besides help with identifying items, I've also found great advice on dealing with situations I hadn't encountered before.”

Because almost everyone who sells and buys children's clothing on eBay is also a mother, armiger has sometimes bonded with other mothers on eBay. They usually end up sharing stories about the births of their respective children, or the challenges of being a working mother. One time she met a mom who works for a shoe company, and they traded children's clothes and women's shoes. “That was a lot of fun!”

She also tries to make her listings personal by using her daughter as a model. Besides being a smart selling strategy to target buyers who are moms themselves, she says it's also a lot of fun. “I guess we all love dressing up our kids!”

Another selling strategy that armiger has had success with is not to have a reserve on her listings. This helps attract more buyers to her listings. “I try to put myself in a buyer's shoes when I create my listings. I try to think of what would attract me to bid on a listing if I'm a buyer. It really helps.”

armiger also respects the importance of feedback, and works very hard to maintain her perfect score. “When buyers look at my feedback history and see how I ship items quickly and always follow-through with my customers, it gives them added confidence to bid on my items.”

Besides being a mom and an eBay seller, armiger also works part-time on mammalogy projects. Balancing all these roles at the same time means that she has to pay careful attention to her eBay business logistics, especially in managing her inventory. She advises other members in similar situations, “Be careful what you buy and watch your inventory! Sometimes it can be very overwhelming being a mom who works part-time, has projects very often, and also sells on eBay. So only buy what you think you will have time to sell.”

One feature that helps armiger manage her eBay activity efficiently and conveniently is My eBay. “It seems so obvious, but My eBay always helps me stay informed of what I am selling, what I need to ship, and feedback comments I need to leave. It is also free, which is awesome!” 

armiger has no doubts that eBay has had a dramatic effect on her life. Many people think of eBay as a place to buy and sell hard-to-find items. But armiger also seems to have touched on something deeper. “If I'm going to buy something I can't get from Target, of course I check on eBay first. But eBay also let me discover a part of me that is not related to academia. It helped me find more potential in myself.”

As always, the story is not complete without learning what eBay means to our spotlighted member. When we asked armiger the question she had this to say: “To me, eBay means Opportunity. I can find computer parts to fix my laptop, so I don't have to send it overseas for repair. I was able to shop when I was convalescing. I can work but not miss watching any precious moments of my daughter's first two years in this world. A lot of opportunity for me to explore!”

We would like to thank armiger 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.