Ebay is Hard

So, Yahoo Finance convinced me that the key to making a little extra money on the fly is to sell my valuables on EBay. I didn't look into whether or not that article was sponsored by EBay, but I decided it was a good idea to jump right in anyway.

I figured I'd start with a dress that cost me like 150 bucks, and I never wear it. That's like, the scenario of every commercial EBay has, so I thought it was perfect. If I get forty dollars for this thing, I'll be stoked. Now, going into this, I considered myself mildly prepared. I've done the craigslist thing, I figure this is just a giant craigslist. A craigslist where you can't solicit sex from strangers. At least I don't think you can. Maybe you can. Let's leave that for another time.

The listing portion of EBay's website is a nightmare. It's like they make it cryptic on purpose, I felt like I was trying to learn HTML. Every line has a subtext. And next to every bit of HTML-ish subtext is a small bracketed price, and I can't figure out if any of it is actually necessary. I mean, I want my stuff to sell. And then after you fill out all the categories, you have to write a description of the item, but you're not left with a whole hell of a lot of write about. Which confused me more, because I had already described the important stuff in the set-up portion, and now I'm being asked to write all that stuff over again? So, I'm left trying to write something cute, or pully with some cool (read: Lame) catch. How is EBay so popular? It took me over a half hour to list one stupid dress. For all that trouble I could have been, I don't know-- working.

Verdict? I'm not cut out for EBay. I think it would be wise for me to explore low-tech venues. Like yard sales, or bake sales.