Making Money on eBay is Important --But Are You Having Fun?

Are you still having fun? Karen and I were sitting at the dinner table the other night. She looked over at me and said: "Do you remember why we got started and kept selling on eBay for so long?"

I was a little perplexed and said something like: "Well, we have always made pretty good money."

"Yes --but don't you remember how much fun it was when we sold something?"

That got me to thinking. It is so easy to get wrapped up in all of the things you have to do to be successful. And, frankly running a full-time eBay business is a lot of work. It is far better than commuting to work for someone else, but it is work nevertheless.

The truth is we do work hard, but we are still having fun. I have the eBay toolbar installed on my computer. This is a neat feature. Every time you sell something a little window pops up in the bottom right of your screen showing the item that just sold. When that happens one part of me says "cha-ching" to myself, but there is another little space in my mind that gives me a personal high-five. I think it triggers a little shot of dopamine in the pleasure center of my brain. The other thing that triggers this is getting a nice feedback comment. Is is fun when you as a buyer win an auction and as a seller when you sell something --especially if it goes for a nice price.

I have been opining here for some time that eBay needs to return their focus to the average seller and not stress big business and big-time consumer products so much. This means focusing on the average buyer too. eBay succeeded not because it was a place to locate a new DVD player, but because auctions are fun. the other part of the "fun" is that you are dealing with real people. I know I much more enjoy buying from another small seller than one of the big professional stores where everything is automated. Yes I am a big believer in automation --but only up to a point. You need to keep the personal touch.

So think about this when you are creating your descriptions and your automated emails. You should set out your payment, shipping and return policy clearly --but also do it in a friendly way. Avoid terms such as

"We only accept..."
"You must..."
"Don't bid unless..."

You have all seen the kinds of auctions I am talking about where the seller has all these strict rules to follow. That always turns me off and I rarely bid. The same goes for your automated emails. Take the time to add a little personality.