Issue date: 10/15/07 Section: Money/Health

Media Credit: MCT

Eau Claire resident Julie Bollinger has been helping her son package his old Beanie Babies and list them on eBay for some time now. Her son is 16 years old, working and driving a car.

"Now, those Beanie Babies mean a lot less to him than gas money," she said. "He's all excited about all the money he's making."

eBay is an online marketplace where members are able to buy and sell items through an auction-style bidding process.

"You can get deals off of it," said junior Jacob Board, who has been using eBay for about two years. "If you have something you don't want anymore, you can make money off of it."

Board said he has bought and sold an iPod, video games, movies and concert tickets on the Web site. He said people can find good deals on items like couches and specific textbooks for classes that can't be found elsewhere, adding purchasing items from eBay eliminates the need to pay full price.

Sophomore Josh Lindell agreed. He said he uses eBay to gain easy access to items that can't be found around town, adding he often saves money doing so.

"College kids that want to clean out closets, or get rid of things or have outgrown collections and are now looking for money to supplement their education, eBay would be a great way," Bollinger said. "eBay is a great place to turn your extra items into cash. Extra things you're no longer wearing or using."

Bollinger, manager of the Western Dairyland Women's Business Center, is currently teaching eBay classes in an effort to make eBay accessible to others,

"To be honest, we kind of thought there was a big need for (the classes)," Bollinger said. "We felt that people could clean out their closets and sell items to help pay their bills."

The Wisconsin Dairyland Women's Business Center is a non-profit organization aimed at providing assistance for small business start-ups and expansions.

"We target veterans, the disabled, minorities and anybody that's socially or economically disadvantaged," Bollinger said.

In 2005, Bollinger became an Education Specialist trained by eBay. She said to teach the classes, she had to meet "stringent criteria," obtain a feedback rating of 98 percent and a minimum number of eBay sales along with completion of an online course followed by an exam.

Users obtain feedback whenever they sell a product to a buyer, Lindell said. Buyers are encouraged to leave feedback when they make purchases on eBay, including comments on promptness and smoothness of the transaction, among other things.

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