Greetings!
Just thought I would share a little bit about myself. First and foremost my name is not really Bruce King. Call it a 'pen-name' if you will. Why hide behind a name built up out of the names Bruce Campbell and Stephen King? To vaguely try and keep my personal information and store information lightly veiled in secrecy. This is the same reason that I have not revealed my eBay store name either. If someone out there is very interested in finding my store, they probably could with a little effort, but for now I just am trying to remain a bit more anonymous. It's more about the tips and stories then about who I am and what my store is for now.
Someday all might be revealed. And if someone really wants to know, I could possibly send you the information via a direct message.
I was feeling a strange sense of guilt about pretending to be someone else and not letting people know my true identity ... but I will continue to correspond through this blog as Bruce King.
Now that I have that weird blip off of my chest.
A little about me. I'm a 29 year old male, married with a new born daughter, a dog, and a rabbit to take care of. I'm a homeowner and work full time as a Graphic Designer for my day job. When I'm not at work, or spending time with my family I am literally working on the eBay store all of the time. I'm out hunting, taking photos, listing, shipping, researching ... it's a non-stop process of learning and doing and I love it!
But why do this? What is the drive to put in 20-30 hours a week on an eBay store, using personal money to invest in inventory and shipping supplies and gas to start up a business that will take up tons of space in my house and probably will never make me "rich", and is frowned on by some people?
The reason is ... I love it. I can't explain exactly why ... I'm from a small town and when I moved to a city and got into the Thrift Store Scene back in 2002 I couldn't get enough of it. I had to keep going week after week to see what treasures I could dig up for a bargain. It's not the same as 'sale shopping' at a retail store ... there is a sense of wonder, randomness and history to thrift, antique and yard sale shopping. It's that feeling of never knowing what you are going to find and how much it's going to be worth. Finding that unique fashionable item that no one else has. Also, what's the story behind the item? Who used to own it? Who are you going to meet at a garage sale in a neighborhood you've never been to? It's completely interesting and thrilling.
I've always been interested in history, weapons, clothes, trinkets, toys, and other random items ... so it makes sense that I would love this job. It gives me the "OK" to go out and buy all of this random stuff that I think is cool ... but it also allows me to not be a hoarder. It's purposeful, repurposing of quality goods back into the hands of people who appreciate the items.
I hate to see quality things get thrown out and I have a sense of pride as a 'savior of oddities' or ' 2nd hand treasure hunter'. It gives me this strange sense of fulfillment that I have never felt in my life. It's like it's what I was meant to do.
Having an eye for quality items through piles and piles of junk isn't just by chance. It's from having an interest in antiques, history, fashion and many years of buying for personal reasons that I have been able to transform into a unique business skill set. Everything I sell in my store is at least somewhat interesting to me or I would not sell it. I'm selling a part of me every time I put an item up for sale - something about each item I find calls to me in some way. Of course there are times when I will try to find items that I think are worth something that I can get for cheap ... but I still will have some sort of intellectual investment in the item.
I've always wanted to have an attic like that scene from The Goonies where there is just like tons of awesome and weird stuff. Like swords, and paintings globes and treasures ... it's just part of my personality. And I think it would be so cool to have parents that collect and sell odd and antique stuff. But all parents think they are cool, right? ha ha
I also hope to build this business to help teach my child the importance of quality. Teach her a sense of respect of history and give her a basic knowledge base of what stuff is worth and the stories behind what makes them worthwhile. I hope to pass on some of my trading skills to my daughter if she is interested in this sort of thing and I hope to teach her to not be wasteful with her money. You can be a consumer, but be smart about it.
I think I've poured enough out of my heart for one day. :)
Please let me know what you think of all of this! Do others out there feel completely sucked in to this process of repurposing items? Or do you just do it for a quick buck? More or less I'm guessing it's a combination of those reasons, that's why I do it too!
I will be hitting up some sales on my lunch break today and tomorrow (Saturday) morning. My goal is to get 100 items in our store by Sunday night (right now there are 79). Wish me luck and I'll keep you up to speed with my findings and techniques!
The eBay Freshman
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