Sharon's Collectibles & More

411 S. 18th St., Bismarck, ND 58504

sharoncol@btinet.net

(701)222-2034

Publication: eBay Magazine

Article Title: Power Sellers

Date: August, 2000

By: Tom Bartsch

• Previous career(s):  I've been in the government for 25 years, 17 with the Bureau of Prisons, and the remainder with the Federal Bureau of Reclamation as a realty specialist.  Shane, my son, was working the in computer field and just graduated from nursing school.

• Amount of time per week/day spent online: We spend about 50 hours a week between the two of us.

• Route to online selling: I started going to auctions with a friend of mine and got hooked.  I opened a shop with my sister, but we would only average about $300 in our good months.  I can make $300 a day here.  Shane had a computer background and business degree to get us started.  The rest is history.

• First online sales experience:  On Nov. 15, 1998, I asked my son about eBay.  He said we could put a few of our items on there.  We ended up getting bids on them in a couple of minutes, and we were just hooked.

• Average number of auctions per week/month:  We average about 550 items out any one one time, but it has been as high as 678 items.  A Power Seller manager at eBay has challenged us to get 1,000 items out at once.

• Biggest Sale:  A 1940s Allis Chalmer's antique tractor for $2500.   It was sold to a priest in New York who rode around on the same year tractor with his father as a kid.  He wanted to relive those days.  We sold an 8-foot 1800s stained glass church window for $1400 to couple in New York for a home they were building.

• Most interesting or unusual sale: We purchased a GMB Oxblood pottery vase for $5 at an auction in Minnesota and sold it for $585.  We had no idea at to its value.  We also had an ink blotter marked with Yellowstone National Park on the handle.  We bought that for $4 and received $234 for it.  Those are what we call sleepers. 

• Top tips: Hard work is the name of the game.  Offer a 100 percent money back guarantee on everything you sell.  You can't argue with customers.   If you do, you will go down the tubes.  Also, you have got to pack it right, because if it breaks, you're just throwing money right out the door. 

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