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Sample Listing – Research from real world

The sample listing section is a demonstration for putting everything mentioned in this web essay to use. The route taken for this particular example was buying an item in the real world and researching its value in both the real world and through eBay. I've personally used all this information and was involved in a buy from the real world/re-sell on eBay situation as an example.

The buying process occurred at a Marshall’s department store. Many of the items here as you may or may not know are on clearance. I happened to find in the men’s clothing section an authentic NBA jersey. It was a size 56 New Jersey Nets home jersey for Alonzo Mourning. Since I collect jerseys I knew that the material was top of the line and considering that Alonzo Mourning no longer plays for the Nets and is a potential hall-of-famer, it is rare. I knew this type of jersey can typically run for $160 in retail stores and at the $19.99 price at Marshall’s I decided to purchase it and re-sell it on eBay.

Many people use eBay to find deals. I knew going in that I wasn’t going to get $160 for this jersey because through my personal research, although still slightly expensive NBA jerseys typically go for a little less than half of the retail price. I decided to do a five day auction but instead of create one for bidding, I created one for best offers. I set the buy it now price slightly high at $69.99 plus the shipping costs. Since at the time there were no authentic Alonzo Mourning jerseys being auctioned off at the time, I thought it was best to determine the value of this based on what people would offer for it.

I included the vital information in the title (name, size, and condition). Also I added a subtitle to catch the potential buyers’ attention to let them know I accept offers and would offer free shipping if the buy it now function was used. I took two pictures of the jersey (front and back) which unfortunately is unable to properly load for this web essay because it wasn’t a recent auction of mine. The description included a background on the quality of the jersey and the type of player Alonzo Mourning was. I also capitalized any word of phrase that I thought would jump out at a potential buyer. The auction resulted in 74 hits for a five day span and a best offer of $55 (shipping included). Considering the offer was made towards the end of the auction, I decided to accept it considering it was the only serious offer and that all in all, I nearly doubled my money.