Ebay...Sheese!

How hard can it be? You take a few pictures, you post them on a website with the lowest price you're willing to accept for the item, you choose a few variables, you click "upload" and you're off and running as an ebay seller. Someone bids, wins, pays you, you package, ship, and wait for feedback.
Easy as pie! Right?

Wrong! In my opinion, while it's not hard, physical labor, selling on ebay is HARD! Or, maybe that's just the case for a worry wart like me.

The pictures are easy. Time consuming sometimes, but easy. Take the item outside, take a picture. No brainer. Upload said photos to computer, only to find out that some are not as clear as they should be. Take the item back outside and try again. Ok....that works.

Pull up "Auctiva". Start a new listing. Import the photo(s). Remember what you paid for the item, mentally add ebay fees and Paypal fees. Figure out the shipping weight. Decide between parcel post and priority. Choose between flat rate or not. USPS, UPS, or FedEx. Write a glowing description, being chipper and cheery, and/or try to inject a bit of humor.

Have you decided on your return rules? Shipping rules? Do you want a fancy background to showcase the item? Don't forget to add the fees for that to the minimum price! How long is the auction to run? 3 days? 5 days? 10 days? (10 days is more money...add that to the cost)

Upload it to Ebay. Sit back and wait. Is anyone going to even see it? Are they EVER going to bid? Get used to tapping your fingers on the desk.

Wait! Someone bid. Get out calculator and figure out again what it's going to cost you. Did you remember to include the cost of gas to get to the post office? Forget about your time. All of the sudden, it's cost you $1.63 to send off this lovely item to it's new owner. Yes. That's right. You've lost money on this auction. Not only that, but then you have to wait to see if you get good feedback or not....

Is it worth it? I dunno. I just can't decide. I've made some fairly good money on a few things, but have lost money on others....

Guess as long as I don't end up having to declare bankruptcy because of my ebay sales, I'll call it "entertainment"...