eBay: ATI TV Wonder Pro Remote Control Edition (item 8722425481 end time Nov-22-05 01:03:13 PST)

Here is my 1st official eBay listing. Although I actually "tried" to sell something via eBay a year ago...it didn't work (the seller backed out of the sale). So this is the first listing that I am making in the name of my new business venture (Grandma's Attic) With less than 3 hours until this auction ends...I wonder if the listing will get any higher. It is now at $41...but come on...show me the money. LOL

Update 051121

Well…I took time off last week from updating this blog (actually, I was so busy, I didn’t get to it). So now in this weeks edition, I will cover all the things (as best as I can remember) of what I have been doing.

The site has now been running for about 3 months or so, and to my dismay, I have not had any customers. I know that people are visiting the site, but still no purchases or even listings. I guess that I have to be my own best customer…at least for the time being. I have been adding affiliates/sponsors to my site, and trying to keep it looking, well…not too busy. As I think I have said before (and will probably will say again): I believe in providing my visitors and customers with the best experience possible. If I don’t have what someone is looking for, then either I will find it, or try to refer them to someone who can. That is the main reason why I have affiliate relationships. Of course, I would be crazy not to try and get paid for my hard work. One of the best examples I have of this happened just today. I had added a Dish Network affiliate button link on my main (home) page a couple of days ago. Today I decided to check out the Dish Network site: as my wife and I had talked about switching to a satellite system (there is a particular station that is not available on cable that we want to get). So I placed my order for a two room package. This evening, when I had checked my stats…I had already been credited my “commission” for the sale/referral. Now let me make one thing perfectly clear: I am not trying to scam anybody. I truly do want the satellite system: in fact…I had to pay money up front to get it: but why not use my own site and be my own best customer. And hey…I get paid for it too. What can be better? Of course, I need to have other people use the site. I have told my family and friends to use my site and get the program as well.

I have also added the ability for my site visitors and customers to purchase gift certificates directly from my site. This is a promotion that is being offered by PayPal, and I jumped at the chance to offer this on my site. Denominations start at $5.00, and go all they way up to $1,000. The best thing is that they don’t expire. So the recipient doesn’t have to feel that they have to “use them up” by a certain date. I currently only have one link on my site (home page) where people can get these, but I will be adding them to select other pages in the next couple of days.

I noticed (just in case you are wondering), that when I moved my affiliate line from the top of the page, to the bottom; everything that was below is not a big white space. I will be looking into that as well…hopefully tonight. And thank you Rob, I have made the changes (hopefully all of them) that we discussed last night. I would also like to take this time to thank everybody (family and friends) who has helped, supported and encouraged me as I work to get have Grandma’s Attic making money.

On the brighter front: I have placed my first listing with eBay as of 11/12 (it expires at about 3am tomorrow). I had a ATI TV Wonder Pro that has been sitting around the house just collecting dust. I had never opened the box until I placed my listing (just to see what it looked like). I started the bidding out at $1…and now it is up to $26. I sure hope that it increases in the next few hours (only 9 hours to go). Thee purpose of this “experiment” was two fold: first, well…I NEED THE MONEY…Second: I wanted to see how this was going to work. I want to start selling more items on eBay…and I need to get to know it inside and out. I want to learn the best times to place listings; the best starting prices etc etc etc. I downloaded several free templates that I can use in Excel and Word for Invoices and Packing Slips. Once the listing expires, I will grab the winning bidders information, and shoot out an invoice to them immediately. Once payment has been made, I will immediately send it out via the shipping method chosen by the buyer.

Even though I am new to this…I want to be as professional as I can in helping my customers make the right buying decision. I even had an inquiry the other day. It was kind of funny (to me), but I answered the customers question quickly and efficiently. The question was: what will it cost to ship my product to Milan, Italy? I did the research via UPS and FedEx, and found that it would cost (at minimum) about $105.00. Before I could even get that information, I had to find the postal code for Milan. Thanks to the Internet and Google…within a minute, I found it to be 20100. I guess I found this funny (in a strange way and not comical), is because I never thought I would have to deal with international issues…at least not quite yet. I have always had aspirations to build an international business though…and perhaps this is the start.