Another way to build feedback while gaining a benefit is treating ebay like a blockbuster or library. Buy books and dvd's that will help you learn how to improve your business and then sell them back off. If you just try to get a below average price when you buy and get an average price when you sell, you shouldn't be too concerned about shipping and fees. Plus, your history won't show a bunch of cheap items.
ebayhateluv had a great point. I bet all of us can find a large list of things we buy on a regular basis that we could get from ebay instead. That method may be superior because while some will be one-off auctions from an individual, others will be from people who sell the same items on a regular basis. If you have sellers saved (on an outside list in case you lose your account lol) you can always have a list of say 50 items that you know you will buy, and get some decent feedback quick. Plus, if you are super cheap like me, you can buy coupons on ebay that you might use in a store. Find something super discounted that you buy a lot of? Get a few rainchecks to buy time, buy the coupons for that item, then go back to the store at your leisure. You've saved money and gotten feedback all at the same time.
In fact, another way is to sell coupons. You won't make a lot, but the sales will more than cover your costs. Buy or otherwise acquire 20 sunday newspapers. Clip the coupons so that you have stacks, paperclipped or stapled, of 20 identical coupons (ebay auctions are limited to 20 identical coupons.) You'll have quite a few depending on how good that sunday was. You might get lucky and some valuable coupons will be in that sunday's papers. Some people will buy multiples from you, but you are likely to sell most of your coupons cheap to many people. Many coupons will say void if sold etc etc and many sellers put something to the effect of "you are paying for my time to clip and sort not for the coupons themselves" but it's like jaywalking or speeding, everyone does it and no one really cares all that much unless you go crazy. You can just forget about selling ones for free items because they will take those down eventually due to heavy counterfeiting of those high value ones. I remember one guy made a killing selling coupons for free coke or pepsi. When you call to complain to the 800 number on the can and say you are not 100% satisfied, they will send you coupons for free product and you can imagine the rest- which is why many retailers won't accept these types anymore. When someone has stuff on sale and you show up with 20 coupons, and get the items free or cheap you can always say you bought the papers for the coupons or have friends and family (if they even care, which is rare), but when you show up with 20 identical coupons for free product of something that doesn't often have such a coupon it's pretty obvious it isn't right.
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