As you, dear readers, may or may not know, Abby and I moved to San Francisco just over three years ago this month. One of the biggest attractions for me was my desire to work for an early stage startup. I finally found myself with that opportunity last summer when I joined Ztail as their #3. It’s been a wild ride ever since.
We, that’s me and now six others, have tried to make it easier and faster to sell your stuff on eBay. We just launched our new website today…
I would love for all of you to sign up and try it out. I know it’s not for everyone, so please don’t feel obligated to sell something for me, just poke around and tell me if it makes sense. Don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or problems. And if you like it or know anyone else who might be interested, please spread the word.
Here’s my latest experience with eBay:
A month or so ago I found my old Treo 600 cell phone sitting in a drawer, collecting dust. I hadn’t touched it in well over two years, but it worked when I plugged it in and turned it on. I was content to recycle it or gave it away, instead I listed it on eBay for $0.99 (the best way to build interest in your auction) and figured I’d get $20 at best. You can imagine my surprise when it sold for $127!!
I have watched my friends at work sell just about everything on eBay: an old golf club, a two year old dvd player, a six year old digital camera, used bike parts, old iPods, and more. If you’re new to eBay, start small. Things like digital cameras, cell phones, and iPods are a perfect way to get in the game with very little risk, especially if you’ve already replaced them with something newer.
To be fair, you’re not going to retire early, but you can clean out your house and make some money doing it. People really do buy things on eBay… as we say on our home page, somebody wants your stuff.
Thanks for listening. And yes, I’ll return to my usual mindless blather in the next post.
And in spite of that imbalance (or maybe even because of it), I have been enjoying myself. I feel useful. Productive. Invested. Engaged.
Ztail is slowly coming into focus (not without a herculean effort, but that’s what makes it even more satisfying). The product is taking shape, the key features and functionality are gaining definition, and perhaps most important, the pitch (the sale, the value, the reason to be) is revealing itself. I hope to share more in the first part of the new year, but for now just know that I am very pleased.
Working this much, this intensely, means I have headphones wrapped around my head almost the entire time (it’s the only way I can concentrate). As a result, I’ve been pouring over each and every piece of music I’ve acquired this past year. I’ve always wanted to do a ‘year-in-review’ post of my favorite albums, singles, and songs. Ideally, I’d simply pick and choose from reviews that were already written over the course of the year, but since I have nothing of the sort, I’ll be starting from scratch. Interestingly enough, for every obvious winner, there’s an equally surprising one, which makes me smile (I love nothing more than music that improves over time). I hope to share this list with you in the coming weeks as well.
I often struggle with this blogging thing. On one hand, I feel obligated to make it more than a ‘hey look at this’ linked list, opting for more involved and more (hopefully) cohesive thoughts (tonight’s post excepted). But that means so many of my less-than-fully-formed ideas fail my lame-ass litmus test, never to see the light of day. I am aware of it and focused on finding a better rhythm.
That said, I won’t resist the urge to point you to a free download of The Areas of My Expertise audio book by John Hodgman on iTunes. Trust me, it’s worth every penny. He’s a frequent contributor to the Daily Show as well as the PC in those ubiquitous Apple commercials (I think he’s far more compelling and the much more likable of the two—it pains me to say that out loud, given my deep dislike of anything Microsoft). I only wish I would have had it prior to my trip back to Ohio this past weekend. I threw some pics up on flickr if you’re so inclined.
I have much more to write, but I’m fading fast. Hope to be back soon.
I never intended tankt.com to house my (most) personal ramblings. But lately that’s been front and center in my life and I see no reason to separate the two. It’s clear not everything is settled, as evidenced by last night’s banner effort, but at least it is settling. I remain a work in progress, and happily so. Would you bother to tune in if not?
Over time, I hope, I’ll show you (my loyal audience of two) the things I love, the dreams I hold, and the talents I’ll use to pull them all together. That said, this blogging shit is hard.
My goal is really quite simple. I want to spin a story, weaving in and out of the corners of my mind, loosely tying together all of the disparate pieces of information I’ve gleaned from the day, with the double goal of a density of thoughts and an economy of words.
I want to then annotate, curate, and merchandise each post. I have some ideas on how the future of (online) retail unfolds and I’m fortunate to find myself in a position to make that happen at ztail. This blog has become my laboratory in so many ways.
I spent the previous few weeks trying in vain to build a store within my blog. When I recommend a song of an artist on an album, or a passage by an author in a book, I want to link you directly to the point of purchase.
I want that link to be contextual in the purest sense, in order to create the emotional connection between attaining the idea and buying the product. Oh c’mon, you can’t be surprised, you know how much I love infomercials…
The point isn’t consumption per se, but awareness. That and artists deserve to get paid for their work.
I realize not all of you will buy. I don’t expect to earn riches from these links, though there is cash at play, that’s not quite the point. I believe I can create an audience and build a reputation as an authority, then use that leverage to pursue new ideas and opportunities in the future… I’m hardly the first to think along these lines, Doc Searls:
The because effect is a kind of jujitsu. While other people look to make money with something, you’re finding ways of making money because of something.
Long story short, I embedded thumbnails of album and book cover art and wrapped ‘em in amazon links. So GHETTO, but it’s a start, and about as good as I can do given the existing tools, and the limits to my web nerdery.
It amazes me that everything in my life is lining up at this moment, but here it is. I love the way it feels so natural and completely unforced. While I promised myself I would go to bed at a decent hour, it’s already well after 2am, and I’m half tempted to stay up all night for old time’s sake. It’s been a while since I’ve had such a labor of love, and I just want to soak it all up.