TGIJ

January is normally the slowest month for retail sales. Thank God! Ironing out the kinks of a newly created anything is tough. Ironing out the kinks of this new store is especially taxing, since the combination of slow download/upload speed, even slower PC performance, entirely new area of eBay I’m unfamiliar with, new interface rules to remember, etc., means I have little time to spend on customer service.
         Yes, I’ve made a couple of sales. The first was to a total newbie, from Italy, no less – first purchase, no feedback. The second alerted me to a major goof-up in my instructions for downloading eBooks, which meant revising all my listings to give the RIGHT instructions for downloading my files.
         Now I’m off to the bank to open another account for PayPal micropayments on sales of less than $12 US. I’m sure there are more headaches ahead, but I’m looking forward to the eventual automation of so much that I am doing by hand – and foot!

2007 - I'm ready.

When I jumped into eBay back in November, I really didn't know where it would lead me. Frankly, I never could have imagined it. The amount of information I have crammed into my head in such a short time amazes even myself. Despite a nagging feeling that I don't know what the hell I'm doing, there are outward and visible signs I'm doing SOMETHING right:

• I've gotten that Top 10,000 Reviewer logo already. In fact, I'm currently number 5,901 - I jumped twice today! My new guide on making your own glass/hard surface cleaner got two votes almost immediately. If it was "monetized", it'd be a breakout seller! I've got an idea for a guide that'll put me in the Top 5,000, irrespective of new votes on the other guides. I'm learning how to hit different markets with each guide.
• I'm getting some blogger.com attention outside of eBay - and I'm not just talking friends and family!
• Many of the concepts, strategies, tools and tips I've absorbed are becoming less opaque. I think I'm reaching what Stuart Kauffman referred to as spontaneous order arising from sufficient complexity (see Stuart Kaufmann's AT HOME IN THE UNIVERSE for much more on the ideas of "order for free", self organized complexity and co-evolution).
• Plus, I'm primed to exploit opportunities I had no idea even existed a month ago.

More soon,
Vince