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

golfloft (view his About Me page), this month's spotlighted member, first began using eBay sporadically in the fall of 1997. Though he began by helping to list a Barbie doll belonging to the owner of a car lot where he was employed, he didn't branch out on his own until creating his golfloft ID in October of 1998. He describes himself as “about 80% seller and 20% buyer.” Some of his buying activity also fuels his sales on eBay.

golfloft originally learned of eBay from a friend who had been using the site for a couple of months. After asking that friend to sell a few items for him, golfloft ventured into selling on his own. “I started selling some items gathering dust that I had laying around the house. I also started bidding on items that interested me. It didn't take very long before I was completely addicted to eBay!”

golfloft says he is a frequent trader in several categories including Americana, Vintage Items, historical America, Antiques, Coins, Stamps, and not surprisingly, Golf Products. He visits eBay several times a day, or more. “Sometimes it's all day, if I am listing multiple items or helping people on the Photos/HTML board.”

Among the many unique historical items he's sold on eBay, he remembers three very vividly. The first one was a Buffalo Bill magazine from 1908 (the year his parents were born), the second was a program for Buffalo Bill's famous “Wild West Show;” and the third was a Wells Fargo horseshoe pouch made of heavy leather and branded “1899 – Wells Fargo.” He says he loves working with historical Americana items, and doing the research this involves.

Besides buying and selling on eBay, one of his interests is to visit the discussion boards. “I am a ‘giver' and I want to share my eBay experiences with other people.” One of his favorite places is the Photos/HTML board. “I started helping people on the Photos/HTML board, and made many friends in the process. I often visit with my good friends there and try to be of assistance to the ‘newbies' on eBay as well as the veterans who are having trouble with pictures in their listings. I cannot stress enough how important it is to do your photography in a professional and attractive manner—it really is the most powerful selling tool that you can use!”

Like many other spotlighted sellers in the past, golfloft agrees that research is critical to successful buying and selling. “Always know as much or more about the items than your prospective bidders so you can answer any questions. The Internet has a wealth of knowledge concerning everything under the sun.”

golfloft also suggests sellers make every effort to create a professional and attractive listing. “I always recommend using eBay's listing enhancement tools and options to induce the prospective buyer to take a closer look at your listing.” He's also a big fan of using Bold to add emphasis to his listings in Search results. “My page views have been more numerous and my bids have also gone up accordingly!”

For successful buying his credo remains the same. “Research, research, research! Find out what other items are being listed in that category and of that type, and see what price they're selling for.”

golfloft is convinced that feedback plays an important role in terms of your reputation on eBay. “What I treasure the most is that when you have 100% positive feedback, potential buyers are never afraid to up their bids and trust you. They're reassured that the item is as described and that the shipment will be quick and dependable.”

When we asked golfloft the question he had this to say: “In just one word, eBay means: COMMUNITY! If the eBay Community were a country, it would be the tenth largest country on this planet. Not one government from the beginning of time has been able to assemble such a wealth of human natural resources that compares with our Community!”

golfloft 's About Me page provides more information about him and his listings.