Going to garage sales last week was a lot like going to a FOL or AAUW book sale. It seemed like everywhere I looked there were books.

Thursday there were 16 garage sales in Grand Forks and the only thing I bought were books. Friday wasn’t much different. There were 29 fresh garage sale and I spent $59.50 for books and only $8.00 for anything else. The 26 fresh sales on Saturday did produce quite a few non-book items, but there were still books to be looked at and purchased.

The second sale I stopped at on Friday turned into a book buyer’s bonanza. The ad said nothing about books but when I stopped to look at a box of teacher’s aids, the lady running the sale asked if I was interested in books. When I told her ‘yes”, she told me the back patio was filled with books.
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Over the course of the next few weeks there is going to be a lot of discussion about the changes eBay will be implementing between now and October. Much of it will be nothing more than negative rants delivered by people who would probably complain if they won the lottery.

But amid all the garbage, there will be a few rational sellers whom will provide some valid ideas. One of those sellers is Cliff Aliperti who writes the Movie Profiles and Premiums blog. Cliff talks about the approach he is taking toward some of the changes in his recent post eBay Changes - Test 1.

The thought Cliff has put into his testing, along with the way he is implementing it, serve as a model as to how any serious seller should approach eBay’s recent changes.

Photograph by Dylan Duvergé.

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The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines customer as “one that purchases a commodity or service“.

The upcoming changes eBay announced on Tuesday, along with changes implemented during the last few months, make it clear that eBay has never owned a dictionary.

Increasingly, eBay is operating under the delusion that the people who come to eBay to make purchases (buyers) are their customers. Nothing could be further from the truth. Since eBay’s inception, no buyer has ever spent a penny purchasing a commodity or service from eBay.

eBay’s revenue is generated entirely by sellers who purchase services from them. Sellers are eBay’s customers. If eBay sustain their growth and increase profits, they need to understand that and focus on creating an environment in which ethical sellers can thrive and continue to grow.

Photograph by Larry Page.

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Several things came up here last week and one results was the update for week 15 of the Challenge didn’t get posted. I had most of it done last Tuesday, but finishing it kept getting delayed from one day to another, and it never got done. Now the update for week 16 is due too and I find myself no closer to having week 15 done than I was a week ago.

So, to get up-to-date, this is going to be an abridged version of both weeks 15 and 16. About all you will get is the table showing the results for the two weeks along with my expenses so far for week 17.

I do have 65 qualifying items running on eBay this week, but I’m not going to list them all here. They consist of 20 unsold items that I re-listed along with 45 fresh purchases made last week. Anyone interested in what they are can see them by using the link to my auctions in the “Information” section of the right sidebar.

Here’s how things look at the end of week 16.

Things are getting back to a semblance of normal here so next week’s update should be on time and in the regular format.

Photograph by emdot.

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The auctions for items purchased during the thirteenth week of the 2008 Garage Sale Challenge ended Sunday evening with 12 of the original 24 items listed selling for a total of $278.74 and a sell-through rate of only 50% for the second week in a row.

As if my sell-through rate wasn’t bad enough, this week my sales on Amazon were higher than my sales on eBay. I don’t remember that ever happening previously.

Twelve books sold on Amazon during the last week for $338.05. The highlight of eBay sales was the early Hohner accordion catalog selling for $54.00 (280251371290).

Here’s how things look after Sunday:

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If you live in, or near, a university or college town and buy used textbooks for resale on Amazon, eBay, or Halfcom it’s likely you have bought an Instructors, or Teachers, edition or solutions manual at some time. When you did, you quickly learned that selling them is against eBay’s, Amazon’s, & Halfcom’s policy.

Amazon’s policy reads in part - “In most cases, Teacher’s Editions and Annotated Instructor’s Editions are NOT intended for public sale and may not be listed for sale on Amazon.com.”

eBay’s policy reads - “Teacher’s editions of textbooks and solutions manuals that are intended solely for use by teachers are not permitted by eBay.” HalfCom’s policy pretty much mirrors eBays.

There is, however, a way you may be able to turn Instructors editions and solutions manual into a profit when you find them.
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