The greatest of the online shrines to materialism, from pre-prepared tacos to vacuum-packed human essence everything in existence, that can be transferred from one person’s possession into another’s, is available to buy here second
hand, usually at far cheaper prices than you would find in stores. The sellers, for the most part, are not professionals, but ordinary site users like yourself wanting to earn a little extra money through getting rid of old bric-a-brac that they no longer value like they once did, such as second hand wedding rings, and firstborn children.
eBay generates revenue by charging small
fees to users in order to
list items on their site, then taking a small percentage of the item’s final price when (and if) it sells. It’s the same principle as working in a fruitmongers and chopping a few millimetres off of every carrot that a customer buys, eventually gathering up enough for a lovely big bowl of soup for yourself. If the listing fees put you off you might want to instead take a look at Amazon.com (.co.
uk in the UK and the relative extension in other countries) who list items without fee but take a slightly larger
cut of the
profits, and don’t seem quite so effective in getting others to see what you have available. If having a cut taken out of your profits bothers you you might want to consider holding a yard sale and seceding from your current nation, or becoming a criminal, that’s very popular these days. ebay is the largest gallery of other people’s junk you’ll find on the internet, if you’re the kind of guy who gets a kick out of browsing through other people’s soiled undergarments, or has some freakish obsession which you would fear to pursue in public, such as a fondness for Barry Manilow LPs, eBay is the place for YOU! (note use of the word “the”, as opposed to “a” or anything that might indicate there could be more than one “place for you”, this is entirely intentional).
Published: June 15, 2005
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