Step Out of Your Comfort Zone

Last week I wrote about expanding your horizons as far as what you sell is concerned. There are other ways to expand your horizons that can have a positive effect on your eBay bottom line. Be willing to re-evaluate your business on a variety of levels.

I recently read a blog at the Auction Rebel about an old item called "Good For" Advertising Pocket Mirrors. While Gary states in this article that these items are relatively hard to come by, I was intrigued by the consistent high prices he said they bring on eBay. These mirrors sounded interesting.

I was still pondering his writing when I took my daughter to her choral group rehearsal in Oberlin, OH, several weeks ago. There is an antique shop with an inviting appearance on the main street in town, just down from the library where I usually spend my time while she is rehearsing. We were in town earlier than usual on this particular day and the antique store was still open. I decided to venture in to see if I could find any real life examples of the Good For mirrors.

Confession time: I am a very thrifty person at heart! I strive to spend as little as possible and sell for as much as possible. My thrifty nature has kept me out of antique shops because my general impression is that even if I find something worth buying there, I will be unable to afford it or it will not afford enough profit to make it worth the expense. So, I've avoided antique stores as a general rule.

While in this antique store I found several books that I thought had some potential. Since I am used to paying .25-1.00 per book, though, I couldn't justify paying the $15.00 that was marked inside most of them. The store was closing for the day so I jotted down the names, authors and copyright dates and went to the library where I proceeded to look the books up on eBay and on http://www.bookfinder.com. Most of the books turned out to be duds but one of them seemed to have promise. My research showed it was listed for between $75-350 on some bookselling sites. It was definitely worth getting.

I still had a hard time justifying so much money for one single book, however. After consulting the wise eBay mentors at eBay Establishings who quickly set me straight, I decided to buy the book. I'd actually already reached that decision myself but needed their confirmation that it was the right one! I went back the next day and asked what the best price was that they could do on the book (my thrifty nature at work!) They called the owner who said $12. I said, "Sold!" and paid for it willingly.

I have yet to list the book but intend to put it in my store to wait for the right buyer to come along. In the meantime my horizons have been expanded yet again. Although my search for the Good For mirrors failed, my outing to this antique store was a success in at least two respects.

First, I stepped out of my comfort zone that consists of thrift stores, auctions and yard sales and ventured into an antique shop. I discovered that while some items may be overpriced for eBay, not everything is.

Second, I stepped out of my comfort zone that consisted of a very narrow idea of what is a reasonable amount of money to spend on an item for resale on eBay. You have no idea how difficult it was for me to make the decision to spend the money to buy that book when, all along, it should have been a clear-cut decision.

Have you stepped out of your comfort zone lately? I'd love to hear your experiences.

Oh, what was the book I found? It is a first edition, first printing of The Flying Girl by Edith Van Dyne. Never heard of her? Edith Van Dyne was a pseudonym for L. Frank Baum, author of the Wizard of Oz books.