Ebay Virgin

So this is some insight into the thoughts of an ebay virgin, selling their goods on the internet for the first time (how sordid!).

I had an item of questionable collectible value that I was going to give away until I found out that an identical item sold on ebay for $260.  The capitalist in me saw that there was an opportunity here, given that there were no other current listings, that there could still be a reasonable amount of hype for this item, so I got started creating my posting, copying several elements from the prior simple posting as my template.  

I read the ebay rules, pondered my wording, pondered the parameters for the sale (7 days or 10?, starting price, shipping, insurance, etc.) and after about 2 hours I had submitted it.  There was really no doubt at the time that what I had done was logical and I could hope for the best but had very little to lose... 

At this point I even got ambitious.  I found the original postings for the first person who sold it on PS3forums.com and I started making comments, asking questions, and posting that another one had popped up on ebay, all to generate interest, and it worked.  In just a few hours I had 20 visitors and 2 watchers (people who click a button to keep an eye on an auction).  

Then there was a post: "lol..That guy is selling it for $0.99!!  Get it people...."

Now I know that people bid things up on ebay, but I also know that people snatch things sometimes at the last second after watching an item, and I figured only the savviest of computer people would probably be interested in this item, so my 2 watchers and 0 bidders were worrying me that the bids could fly in at the last minutes and I would sell this for $10, which would not be worth my time.  I got so anxious about this result that I edited my listing and set a reserve (details withheld to protect the auction), which is a minimum price I'm willing to sell for.  This made me feel better even if it cuts into my profits a bit.

So I was pretty much was satisfied with my actions until this morning.  The doubts started running through my head.  What if this promotion was the part of something bigger, and what if the person possessing one of these billboards was entitled to something more than just a simple collectors item.  They've numbered them to limit their liability and would probably expect some/many to be thrown out given they were just planted on public property.  It made me wonder all over again if I had done the right thing, but I feel like after 10/21 the wind will all be out of the sails of this promo item.  

Maybe I'm right and maybe I'm wrong.  We will see and I'll post the outcome of this whole ordeal as it unfolds.

Here is the ebay auction of mine.