Q1. What is your eBay user id and name (the regular one that you get called in life)? 

My seller id on eBay is gothglamandfitness, although the shop is goth glam or fitness, my name is Montoya 

Q2. How long have you been a member of eBay? 

I’ve been a member for about two and a half years, although I started buying a few months before I got the confidence to start selling myself. 

Q3. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? 

I live at home with my mum and three cats, I have lupus so living on my own isn’t really an option.  I have a part time job in a busy hospital lab and eBay takes up most of the rest of my time.

Q4. What kind of products do you sell on your a/c? 

The shop mainly sells sporting goods, skipping ropes, weight lifting gloves, water bottles, etc.  But I also try to offer a range of fashion and jewellery items and any odd bit and piece that comes along.

Q5. Do you have a shop? 

I do have a shop, goth, glam or fitness freak 

Q6. Do you have any top tips/shortcuts or selling secrets you would be willing to share with the other subscribers?

First of all description, don’t always describe the item as it appears to you, if it’s red don’t just say it’s red, it’s a vibrant red, fiery red.  Also, try to look at things as the buyer would, you can’t always like what you sell, sometimes I do , sometimes I don’t, there are things that I like that my boyfriend doesn’t, but think of what the buyer wants.  Describe the item as they would see it, with their tastes in mind. 

Second, postage, I like to include postage in the price of as many items as possible so that what people see is exactly what they pay and I price the postage as the price of the stamps plus the weight of the item and the cost of what it’s being posted in.  I don’t like to add handling charges.  Considering most of the work is done by the time I’m packing the item up I don’t think it’s fair to charge people for that. 

Third, competition, see who is selling the same items as you, what their prices are like and what their description is saying.  Go through the items of successful sellers and see what they sell, how they sell it and how many they sell.  For example, I have some winter items coming up, but looking on eBay at other people selling the same item I can see it’s too early to put them on yet.  They’ve had them on for the past two weeks and only sold a few at a very low price, so I’ll hold on to my stock until the market picks up. 

Q7. If one of the subscribers were to buy from you, would you be prepared to give a discount? (If yes – then it’s down to you to decide what discount and whether it’s only if they spend a set amount etc) 

I would love to offer a discount but the prices I offer really are the best I can do.  The only additional service I have is to offer goods that I don’t sell on eBay.  There are many items from sports supplements to health food, organic chocolate (very nice!) and coffees, jewellery and skin care products that I sell away from eBay as people that buy on eBay are generally unwilling to risk these items.  Either they are pricey or they are heavy so postage is high.  These are high quality items that I would be willing to sell at a good price should anyone want them. 

Q8. Have you ever had any bad experiences on eBay ie. Dodgy/rude customers etc 

Have I?!!  I’ve had to threaten people with solicitors and the police before.  The most recent one was over a £4 skipping rope that went missing in the post in January, they decided to complain in July. 

Most people, 99%, are fine, some very nice, but that 1% gives me headaches.  It’s usually due to items going missing in the post which seems to be a reason that people don’t accept, they assume you’ve stolen their money.  I sell low price items so stealing would be a waste of time, also my feedback would suggest I’m not a thief. 

When you sell at a higher volume you will encounter problems, but thankfully they get easier to deal with. 

Q9. Is there anything else that you would like to add? 

One thing I would like to ask, I would like for people to take a look at my shop and let me know what they think.  I gave the shop a going over, in terms of look and stock a year ago and now I’m taking a fresh look at it.  If anyone has any suggestions at all they would be appreciated. 

Q10. Finally, can I ask if you could share your thoughts on the new WomensBay on-line magazine and is there anything that you would like to see appear either as a one off or regular feature? 

I like the articles, but so far I think it’s too early to say that there’s anything that needs to be done; it’s great as it is.  The recipes are good as well, I’ve been looking for new ones.

If anyone would like to take a look around Montoya's Ebay shop CLICK HERE