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You are here: Home / Diary / Flashback Friday – When I Was an eBay Shill

Flashback Friday – When I Was an eBay Shill

January 20, 2012 By: Sparkle Cat40 Comments

I felt SO cheapened!

Here is another example of my human’s selling failures. For a while, back when we were living at the old house, she tried hawking stuff on eBay. A friend of hers moved to New York and had to give up a bunch of her collectible bears because she no longer had room for them, so she let my human take them and sell them. When you sell things like this, it’s always best to disclose if they shared space with pets, in case the buyer is allergic. So my human did that one better by having me pose with them!

This one smelled kind of funny, but I don't think my human disclosed that.

In fact, not only did I pose with these things, I also had to write the copy! Take this one, for example: “I’m Sparkle the Designer Cat and I can’t believe my human is going to auction off this fascinating Linda Novick Limited Edition Angel Bear! She has so many textures to explore and those pretty faux roses look almost good enough to eat. In fact, I guess that is why my human only let me look at this Angel Bear for a few moments… I think she was afraid I would try to take a bite out of her! This lovely bear is in pristine condition and she says she wants ‘to keep it that way.’ Whoever buys this bear is in for a special treat! (That even goes for humans who don’t want to chew on her.)”

This photo would look much better without those dumb Goth toys.

Ugh! wasn’t that embarrassing sales copy? At least my human had the presence of mind to add “Cat NOT for sale!” on every item.

I found this whole eBay thing really boring.

In addition to the bears, sometimes my human would buy some things for cheap and sell them for more money. Like these frames that she found deeply discounted at CVS. She is still sorry she didn’t keep one. They were kind of cute.

Whaddya mean? It looks like a toy to me!

The most annoying part of my human’s eBay endeavors was that she kept telling me over and over that the things I was posing with were not toys. Oh, really?

I wanted to chew these ribbons so badly!

And if I could not play with them or chew on their parts, what good were they?

This bear was even bigger than it looks!

But selling bears and cheap picture frames doesn’t exactly make much money. In fact, she lost money on the big bear above, because she started it at 99 cents and only one person bid on it. Then he wanted it shipped to Canada via UPS and she accidentally undercharged him. Even though my human was getting less than stellar results at selling on eBay, her boyfriend decided to give it a try. Of course, he was selling stuff like amplifiers, so with his first sale, he made more money than my human made during all the months she was selling on eBay.

Yes, this was a completely bogus endeavor!

That was the end of my human’s eBay experience.

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Comments

  1. jansfunnyfarm says

    January 25, 2012 at 11:53 am

    Oh, so that’s your ebay sales experience you referred to the other day. Your mom sounds like Jan. sigh Humans!

    Reply
  2. Create With Joy says

    January 25, 2012 at 11:20 am

    Oh Sparkle, that is the rocking-est post I have read in a long time! You were born to sell. I wish I had come across your ads. I would have bought those bears by the boxful!

    Of course, not everyone is cut out to sell. Our mom can’t even BUY on e-bay (unless it’s BUY NOW which gets dad in a tizzy!) The stress of bidding and having someone swoop in on your precious goods at the last moment sends mom’s blood pressure into a soar!

    Hope you have a fun day finding new things to turn into toys… after all, isn’t that one of the things our humans love… the many creative uses we find for things they take for granted?

    Legend & Tsunami
    http://create-with-joy.com

    Reply
  3. Bonnie @Thrifty Momma Ramblings says

    January 24, 2012 at 5:43 pm

    Oh Sparkle, you poor thing. At least you looked spectacular in your photo shoots. I bet part of the problem was your beauty out shined the wares your human was trying to hock. I sold on Ebay for 8 years, and happily quit that gig. That was when I turned to blogging. I’m much happier now as I’m sure your human feels the same. 🙂

    Reply
  4. Natalie says

    January 21, 2012 at 7:47 pm

    Sparkle, those pictures are fantastic. The first one made me laugh out loud. I’ve tried selling things on ebay before without much luck, so I admire your human’s persistence! Getting adorable you to pose with the items was probably a great advertising technique.

    Reply
  5. Clooney says

    January 20, 2012 at 11:22 pm

    Honestly, I don’t know why theese Humans wouldn’t have been bidding like crazy with theese brilliant pictures of you Sparkle!

    Reply
  6. Ratty says

    January 20, 2012 at 10:22 pm

    You did a good job of posing with all that stuff. Maybe the problem your human was having was just with the particular things she was trying to sell.

    Reply
  7. Oui Oui says

    January 20, 2012 at 7:34 pm

    You sure were a good sport about the whole thing! We don’t cooperate, so we don’t get asked to do things. As soon as we know the flashy box is out we stop looking in that direction.

    Reply
  8. Cathy Keisha says

    January 20, 2012 at 6:34 pm

    Loved that copy you wrote to sell the bear w/o mentioning the funky smell. TW always talks about selling stuff on e-bay but she doesn’t want to have to get another P.O. Box.

    Reply
  9. Penelope says

    January 20, 2012 at 5:25 pm

    Dear Sparkle,
    Is this part of the Mystery Posts today?
    {{{{{{{Giggle}}}}}}}
    Kisses
    Nellie
    PS, our Mommy did not make very much money on our eBay together either

    Reply
  10. Admiral Hestorb says

    January 20, 2012 at 4:08 pm

    Oh Sparkle…I can well imagine the embarrassment this caused BUT if your mom sold anything..that went to your betterment, right? After all, it would not have sold without you!

    xoxoxo Katie

    Reply
  11. BeadedTail says

    January 20, 2012 at 3:51 pm

    It was nice of you to help her try to sell all those things on eBay Sparkle. The bears are very cute! Our mommy has a closet full of stuff she’s been wanting to sell on eBay so hopefully she doesnt’ get any ideas of making us pose with the stuff. Did your human’s boyfriend use Binga in his photos?

    Reply
  12. Cat's Cats says

    January 20, 2012 at 3:48 pm

    We Canadians are such trouble makers – LOL!!!

    Reply
  13. Eric and Flynn says

    January 20, 2012 at 3:21 pm

    The humiliation of having to pose with bears and not even be allowed a single chew.

    Reply
  14. The Poupounette Gang says

    January 20, 2012 at 2:21 pm

    What can we say, Sparkle, other than that you truly are a saint!!!

    Purrs,
    The Chans

    Reply
  15. Glogirly & Katie says

    January 20, 2012 at 2:21 pm

    Sparkle, that was HILARIOUS! What we put up with. It’s mind bending. I was a little embarrassed for you with that big frilly bear-like thing. And the copy…well, let’s just move on shall we?

    Good thing your human is on to bigger and better things. Like focusing on You and Your needs.

    xo Katie
    (Pee S – my video is up and it’s killer) ha!

    Reply
  16. Spitty the Kitty says

    January 20, 2012 at 2:19 pm

    Aw, Sparkle, I would pay more for an item just because YOUR gloriousness had rubbed off on it!

    IF I bought stuff on ebay, which I never have. And neither has my Human. Maybe your Mom just never found the right customers because we weren’t there, MOL!

    My Human is the worst salesperson ever: “You don’t want to buy this do you? No, I didn’t think so.”

    That’s her pitch.

    Reply
  17. MaxtheQuiltCat says

    January 20, 2012 at 12:10 pm

    HH used to have a bear collection… In fact, I think some of them are still in the closet. Your bears are very pretty. I’ll see if I can’t find one to post with the boys some day soon.

    Have a great day.

    Pawhugs, Max

    Reply
  18. Ginger jasper says

    January 20, 2012 at 11:35 am

    I think that your mum should have sold everything straight away with you sat beside them. They were gorgeous pictures… Hugs GJ xx

    Reply
  19. Pricilla - Famous SpokesGoat says

    January 20, 2012 at 11:24 am

    You are lucky she didn’t sell you….

    Reply
  20. Boris Kitty says

    January 20, 2012 at 10:50 am

    I would bid on a Sparkle Cat!

    Reply
  21. Tamago says

    January 20, 2012 at 9:26 am

    Hi Sparkle, you are such a cute model – “Cat not for sale” signs are necessary, otherwise may try to get you 🙂

    Reply
  22. William says

    January 20, 2012 at 9:05 am

    I’ve used eBay, too, Sparkle! I tried to sell my brother once.

    http://williamthecat.blogspot.com/2008/04/hurry.html

    Nobody bought him.

    Reply
  23. Cats~Goats~Quotes says

    January 20, 2012 at 8:17 am

    I liked all those pretty pictures of you, Sparkle!
    Our Mom used Noah to show off her eBay stuff, so he can relate.
    Happy Friday to you all,
    ~ Timothy

    Reply
  24. Cats of wildcat woods says

    January 20, 2012 at 8:05 am

    Your bean should have let you handle all the sales Sparkle!!

    Reply
  25. Brian says

    January 20, 2012 at 7:40 am

    Well I don’t know how anyone could wresist bidding with you in the pictures,

    Reply
  26. We love Luna says

    January 20, 2012 at 7:23 am

    Hey…come on…I LOVE it! I love these pictures and you are ADORABLE!
    🙂
    Luna

    Reply
  27. Selina says

    January 20, 2012 at 7:14 am

    Oh Sparkle …

    Can we commiserate? MomKatt’s been doing eBay for a few years now, selling HER collectible bears, trying to thin out her collection. She HATES it but has had pretty good luck overall & hasn’t used any of us in shameless promotions I’m happy to meow. MOL!

    We don’t hold still long enough when DadKatt photos her bears, anyway! (She collected Steiffs VERY seriously for years, now she’s “over it” and is keeping her antique bears and a few that she truly still loves & dumping the rest to use to pair down the credit cards!)

    But when she is done, she says, she is DONE! She hates doing it!

    I’m so sorry you went thru this … and you’re right: WHAT GOOD IS IT to hawk bears you can’t chew on?? (Or at LEAST bunny kick!)

    PURRS!
    Selina

    Reply
  28. Milo and Alfie says

    January 20, 2012 at 7:13 am

    Our mom has sold all sorts of “no longer needed” stuff on e-bay. It’s the modern way to re-cycle! We love your poses and reckon you add value to the goods! (hope that doesn’t give mom ideas!)

    Reply
  29. Callie (a.k.a. Trouble) says

    January 20, 2012 at 6:30 am

    My Mommie tried this but found out that if you try to charge people how much it really cost to ship, they complain about it, but if you charge what everyone thinks is fair, the seller loses money.

    Reply
  30. The Florida Furkids says

    January 20, 2012 at 5:32 am

    We hope our Mom doesn’t see this post since she sells on Ebay. We don’t want her getting any ideas of using us as shills!

    The Florida Furkids

    Reply
  31. Bengal Business says

    January 20, 2012 at 5:22 am

    MOL! Sparkle the Ebay Cat….nehhh. You just stick to being oooooo soooooo furry pretty!
    Purrsss Lars and Odin

    Reply
  32. Marg says

    January 20, 2012 at 4:56 am

    We tried to sell things on Ebay and actually did sell quite a number of things and made a little money but not much. That was such a good idea to have you pose with the animals etc.
    Love the pictures Sparkle. Take care.

    Reply
  33. The Island Cats says

    January 20, 2012 at 4:15 am

    Sparkle, we’re surprised you let yourself be used like that!! Our mom tried selling stuff on ebay too, like beanie babies when they were all the craze…she had a little bit of luck, but not a whole lot…she’d spend her profits buying other stuff on ebay!!

    Reply
  34. Whisppy says

    January 20, 2012 at 3:45 am

    Those pictures sure are attractive and that Canadian guy was lucky!

    Reply
  35. Hannah and Lucy says

    January 20, 2012 at 3:28 am

    You would make a great saleslady Sparkle – purrhaps you could do an auction for your Mom!
    Luv Hannah and Lucy xx xx

    Reply
  36. The Kitties of Purring Pines says

    January 20, 2012 at 3:22 am

    You did an excellent job purrsenting the toys. Maybe your mom should let someone else do the selling?!? Then she could spend the free time with the cats!!!

    Reply
  37. Gattina says

    January 20, 2012 at 2:50 am

    With a presentation like this, I am sure even people who don’t need toys would buy them !! What a great idea your mom had !

    Reply
  38. Baby (Lisa Lisa and the Cat Jam) says

    January 20, 2012 at 2:35 am

    You are such a pawesome model! My mom says you cooperate much better than I would.

    Reply
  39. Poppy Q says

    January 20, 2012 at 1:52 am

    We liked your post. I sold lots of things on our NZ version of ebay called trademe last year when we moved. You have reminded me that we have more things to get rid off.

    Have a lovely weekend.

    Julie and Poppy Q
    xxx

    Reply
  40. Mark's Mews (Ayla, Iza, and Marley) says

    January 20, 2012 at 12:32 am

    We have all done some odd things… Forgive yerself.

    Reply

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