Ch^H^H...Train of Thought

eBay is a funny place.

Alright, so after ordering a limited edition DS... or two, I signed up for the affiliate program since it's free and I get a small cut if somebody buys stuff through a link I can post.

But I'm not one to post banner ads and stuff on my personal site. Besides, I have no idea how many people actually read this AND would be interested in buying stuff.

And I don't really do game reviews either.

But I do use eBay. And eBay is a funny place.

People like to buy stuff on eBay since you can search through an extraordinary set of stuff that is one of the widest I can think of. And then buy whatever they feel like. Even for higher than retail price.

Take for example import video games. In the completed items section, I see a bunch of people who bought Jump Ultimate Stars (think a street fighter-esque game with a 300 or so characters from anime/manga all mixed together in one game) for $47 including shipping.

And you can buy it retail online for $42.50 including shipping, if you actually click the link.

Gee. So if people do that little amount of research, why not post a ebay auction for ~$48 including shipping, and then just order it and have it shipped directly to the buyer?

Watch:
$42.50 for the + 5.25% for eBay Fees + 3% for Paypal Fees = $46.

If I post a auction where the description points to the affiliate link "for more information", how many people will click it? And notice I'm ripping them off? And buy it?

It's like spending $3.50 to post a subtle ad link. (if the auction goes through; else it's less cuz there's no final value fees) If they buy it, I order the game with my credit card and set their address as the shipping address. I gain $1.46 after all the fees. (the 46 cents is from using my credit card's cash back rewards)

If they don't buy it from the auction and instead buy it from the link, then I gain $2 from the affiliate commission for each person who buys it.

Now, it sucks if all this effort goes into bagging me just $2. But if a lot of people notice, then I get $2 for each person. Could be good. Could suck.

I'm going to try one and see what happens.

Edit: Well, somebody bought it. Too bad it didn't bring in any additional buyers.

Congratulations to Cindy and Chris Au!

April 28th, 2007

With the groom reciting vows as poetry, the bride singing her vows, and the bride's father singing opera-style at the banquet, the next couple has a hard act to follow!