My one year old son just ate a piece of pink chalk while I was launching an eBay auction. My three year old son came in and told me about it. Chances are, had the older brother not informed me of the younger brother’s sneaky “snacking,” I wouldn’t have known about it until the next diaper change, at which point I would have been thoroughly puzzled.

My name is Megan. I am a stay-at-home mom running an eBay store. Welcome to my world, where the colors of the eBay logo are frequently found to make surprise appearances in the diapers around here.

The words “non-toxic” are my friends. Without them, how else would I get that vintage apron listed?

As you may have gathered at this point, my eBay Selling for eParents blog won’t be quite like the other home-based business blogs you will find here at eMoms at Home. Rather than saddle you with more how-to information than you could possibly digest, we’re going to share stories and hopefully begin a solid discussion of what it takes to begin and maintain a successful home-based eBay business while simultaneously juggling a real life. You know those pesky things that involve dishes and laundry, kids and spouses, bills and sleep deprivation? And, yes, I’ll probably mention diapers more than just today. In my world, eBay and diapers go hand in hand.

Are you smiling, yet? Are your shoulders relaxing just a wee bit as you realize that I am not some fancy pants eBay guru that is going to try to sell you some wacky selling system while flashing all of my bling in your awe-struck faces as I expound on the riches to be made in the eBay universe?

When it comes to eBay, I am a bit of an eBay customer guru, though. I fully believe it was my understanding of my buyers that made me a PowerSeller right out of the gate. An eBay PowerSeller is a seller that has maintained an average sales total of $1,000 over three consecutive months, having met certain additional requirements we can get into later. I reached PowerSeller status my fourth month as a seller.

How did I do this? I was a buyer first and I paid attention to what I liked in sellers. I also paid attention to what I didn’t like. The seller that shipped my vintage tablecloth the day after I paid? Awesome. The seller that took two weeks to answer my emails? Stinky. The seller that threw in an extra bonus gift because I took the time to send them an email telling them how excited I was to find a checkbook to match my husband’s planner? Rocked my socks. The seller that wrapped my fragile vintage chalkware statue in old newspaper and toilet paper? Not so much.

The details of how to become a solid eBay seller can be overwhelming. There are so many books, websites, and courses (both live and on video/DVD/online) already out there that it is difficult to know where to start. Most people give up after the first couple of pages of information. I mean, how difficult is it supposed to be to sell my grandmother’s cookie jar, anyway?

I’m here to help you discover that you can so do this. I know you are hesitant. I know you have questions. I know you aren’t sure where to start. I know you don’t know who to trust. I know you don’t want to get ripped off. Seriously, I feel you. I was you. I still am you. I just decided to go ahead and do it and now I’m a millionaire thousandaire.

We’ll get into all of the details of how to get started and explore some of the options available for sellers soon enough. I will absolutely give you suggestions of good books to read and courses to avoid. I’ll walk you through the key elements to be sure to include in your listings. We’ll do all of… snore… snort… zzzz… huh?! Whoa, I think I fell asleep there for a second.

How-to stuff can be boring. It’s everywhere. It’s flashy and obnoxious and confusing. It’s intimidating. Particularly when you still haven’t found the time to take a shower today.

As I told Wendy Piersall, Ms. eMoms at Home master of all things home based business, this week and these first posts will be less about building our millions and more about building relationships.

In my opinion, eBay is all about trust.

I’m going to help you believe that you can trust yourself to be a successful eBay seller, learn to trust me, and begin conveying through your auctions that your customers can trust you, as well. You can so do this. You can even do it in your pajamas, having not yet had your shower today. You can do it with kids hanging off of you and toddlers eating pieces of chalk. Yes, even then. Are you ready?

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