Snowshoeing.."If you can walk, you can showshoe"

That's what I'd heard - "If you can walk, you can showshoe". I figured they were lying and it had to be harder. I envisioned a bowlegged waddle. But what I found was that todays modern snowshoes aren't like that at all. They're lightweight, maneuverible and don't require any huge amount of technical skill. What I also found out, is while it's not extremely technical in nature, it can be exceedingly physically exhausting!

Nicole and I went up to Big Bear Lake, California to check out the course for the upcoming Snowshoe The Bear snowshoe race. We got our snowshoes from Equada Outfitters - an awesome mountain shop in Big Bear. I'm actually making them a website at www.EquadaOutfitters.com but it's not done yet.

Anyway, we got Kahtoola snowshoes, which are a pretty slick system. You just step into them, almost like a ski binding. You can wear your trail running shoes and you put on a hard soled neoprene over-bootie.

Unfortunately my left was a bit loose and started rubbing a bit early into our trek. By mile 2 my left heel was pretty sore. At mile 3 I pulled off my shoe and sock to find a big flap of skin where the 50-cent piece size blister had long since popped. I was prepared with my pack full of adventure racing supplies, so I had a fist-aid kit with duct tape in it. I put a bandage with duct tape over it and it immediately felt better.

But, by mile 4-5 I could tell it had come off and was rubbing badly on the decent. Add to that my right heel was beginning to develop hot spots and it was tough. We were out for 3 1/2 hours total. Much longer than we'd anticipated and it was much harder than we'd thought it would be.

I think it had to do with several factors. First - we were at 7000 - 9000 feet altitude the entire time. Second, the snowshoes we had are made for a light snowfall to pack, not necessarily powder. They had around 2 feet of powder the week before. So as our shoes would break the surface of the snow we'd sink 6-8 inches or so. Not bad, but then you have to lift your foot/shoe all the way out of the hole and drive it forward. It's a killer workout. We had water and some gels, but ultimately, not enough of either for nearly 4 hours of tough work.

But, we made it back fine. Nicole was such a trooper for what was an extremely tough outing. I'm glad she didn't have any issues with her feet or being cold. I had brought gloves and outer shells and beanies. It seemed pointless when we left, but after you begin to sweat and get up over 8000 feet it gets cold quick and by our return we were both fully dressed in all the attire I'd brought.

It reminded me what I already knew (but it's good to be reminded) - you can't mess around in the backwoods in winter. You have to be prepared for anything. If we'd gotten lost or hurt and were not prepared we'd be popsicles by morning. Just 4 days prior an elderly man had gone hiking in this same area. They got a call from his cellphone saying he was lost and then nothing more. They got all that snow after the call and now they're really just trying to recover his body - knowing that without supplies he has no chance of survival out there.

I always carry the essentials into the backwoods - even mountain biking, anywhere even slightly remote. Anyway, I got off topic...sorry.

Here's a picture of my left heel today (2 days after the venture).

I'd love to say it looks worse than it really is - but it actually smarts pretty good. I learned a few things. My feet sweat terribly with this amount of exertion. I need good quality sweat wicking socks - two layers and probably a second set in my pack.

As my feet got wet from the sweat they started not only chafing, but also started to get cold. By the end my toes were pretty solidly numb. Too much longer and I could easily have gotten a bit of frost-nip, if not frost-bite.

I also learned to take more water and more food, and even another under layer shirt per person.

Overall a great trip and something I've long wanted to do. I shot quite a bit of helmet cam video, but the camera was slanted at an angle and it almost makes me dizzy to watch it. So I made a short video with only a tiny bit of Nicole actually snowshoeing, but I thought I'd share it with you anyway. Here you go:

Just like old times

It's been quite a while since I've been on my road bike. I've been busy riding the mountain bike, training for some Adventure Races. I've been running and of course swimming. But I just haven't been riding my road bike lately.

It's strange because everytime I get back on it, after a brief hiatus, I just love that feeling...that 'I'm a kid again' type feeling. I get that feeling everytime I get on my motorcycle too, but it's even better on my bicycle.

I planned on a mtn. bike ride today too - but we've had quite a bit of rain lately, and although I enjoy riding in the dirt, I'm not a huge fan of riding in the mud. So, road bike it was.

Anyway, it was just a great ride. I rode 40 miles, from my home over to Highway 101 down the Coast to Del Mar, California and back. Two hours and 10 minutes - for an average of around 18.7 mph as I recall. Not bad for a month off the bike (road) and the hilly course.

Did I mention my bike is 23 years old? When I was 20, I raced bicycles on the US National Sprint team and worked at a bicycle shop and I worked for a custom frame builder, Dave Moulton. He made me three custom bicycles. A road bike, track bike and a mountain bike. Somewhere along the way I sold the mtn. bike, then years later the track bike, but could never bring myself to part with my criterium frame. I've upgraded the parts, but still ride the steel frame.

When I ride weekly group rides with a local racing team, all the vets look at my ride and say 'wow - nice bike'. All the 20 year olds didn't even know they made bikes before aluminum and carbon fiber. My bike weighs at least 5-7 lbs more than theirs, but it's 'my' bike. Custom made for me. Nothing rides like it.

Tomorrow, back in the pool and then Friday I'm heading to the mountains for some snowshoeing to train for an upcoming snowshoe race.

Adventure Race Training

I've mentioned before that I'm doing some adventure racing - the sport includes trail running, mtn. biking, orienteering/navigating, kayaking, climbing/rappelling and more.

In an effort to prepare for these 6-24 hour long races, I've been doing quite a bit of training trail running and mountain biking, both in the daytime and after dark with lights.

Well, I couldn't resist a downhill video session with my new helmet cam that Santa brought me. :)

It's pretty bumpy and I'm still figuring out what the 'view' of the camera is, so the orientation is a bit low on the horizon, but it's still fun! Enjoy...

Sledding in Big Bear, California

Ahhh, sledding in Big Bear! We've been coming here for years to spend vacation time in our favorite place - Big Bear, California. It's a small mountain community at around 7000' elevation in the Mountains above San Bernardino.

When we first came here, years ago we used to have to hike up the sledding hill. For several years in fact - but it's improved. The first improvement was a rope tow up one side. You'd sit in your tube and grab on to the rope. One year they added log-like steps with hay on them. Then a big rubber mat. Then miraculously one year the rubber mat moved like an escalator. That got better for a few years and then last year, they actually covered the moving sidewalk so you're out of the elements for the 3-5 minutes it takes to get to the top of the sledding runs.

I've combined all the videos I shot this week into one sledding montage put to the music of AC/DC. :o) Enjoy!

Crunch, Crunch, Crunch

That's the sound I hear...crunch, crunch, crunch. I'm in Big Bear, California. My home to be in the next few months hopefully. It's a crisp 38 degrees outside and I'm mid-way through a 7.5 mile run.

There are so many things that go into this run. They seem to all come to me at once. A year and a half ago I started losing weight. When I plateaued a year later, I had lost over 100 lbs. My wife has lost 75. We're the same people with a new lease on life. So here we are...at 7000' altitude, a week before Christmas, running in the snow. Yes - the snow. One of the many reasons I can't wait to make Big Bear my permanent home instead of vacaction destination. I love the snow and I love that crunch, crunch, crunch sound our feet make as we run the Alpine Pedal Path along the North Shore of Big Bear Lake.

The weight loss is one of many things...the next is the running itself. An athlete most of my life, I've never considered myself a runner. But I've run 20-25 miles a week for the past 75 weeks. I'd be lying now if I told you I wasn't a runner. I enjoy it now. It doesn't hurt anymore. I find comfort in my runs. I think better while I run and certainly better after.

Ok, back to Big Bear! It's the small town I love - the community. It's the skiing, hiking, mtn. biking, backpacking, kayaking, running, horseback riding, snowshoeing...jeeesh the list goes on and on.

I don't understand it...evertime I tell someone I'm moving to Big Bear, it's always the same reaction. First they get the dumbstruck look, and then they all say it. "Why Big Bear?". I recite the list above and I guess because none of those things are part of their lives - th lieir expression doesn't change. And I just smile. I can't wait to make it my home.

It's been a goal for years. Slowly working towards it. Getting the ducks in a row, and now the house is on the market. Of course it's an ugly time to try to sell a house in Southern California, but I don't even care. I don't have to make a dime on it. If I can just break even, I'll be the wealthiest man alive! I'll be living in my vacation spot of choice, on the Pacific Crest Trail in the mountains of California, a mile above the ocean, where the air is still clean and I can hear that crunch, crunch, crunch!

'Tis the Season

Wow, Thanksgiving came and went in a flash and Christmas is just around the corner. I can't wait until next week. We're heading to Big Bear, California - our favorite vacation spot and future home - for a week of relaxing and fun. Big Bear got over a foot of new snow in the storm we had in Southern California this past week!

So what's new? Well lots of stuff! Our bicycle clothing has been selling fantastic. We've ordered and sold through our arm, leg and knee warmers, jackets and shorts. We designed a few new short styles and they have arrived and are selling well too!

Most recently I got some of my samples in for my new line of Triathlon clothing. We'll have Tri shorts and Tri-Suits. Probably a few other items, but they samples look good. We're fine tuning the styles and they'll be ready for the early Spring Triathlon Season.

What else...weight loss is being maintained. Freelance eBay and Internet Marketing business is up! I've been doing a ton of freelance work creating listing templates, designing eBay stores and more. Nic is helping out at her old job working part-time after someone recently left with no notice. And with the holidays upon us - it's a good time to make some extra money.

Happy Holidays everyone! Whether it's Chanuka or Christmas, Kwanza or just another time of year for you... it's still the Holiday Season - so Happy Holidays!

Monopoly - it's not just a corporate conglomerate

My family likes to play games. Board games to be specific. We always have. My wife and I have played cards since we started dating - rummy or gin usually. And as our boys came of game-playing age we got them started with the basics...Candyland and Chutes & Latters and Uno. Then we graduated to Life, Battleship and Monopoly Jr. And they've grown to love it.

Jacob & Nic at Starbucks

As it turns out - we rarely play at home. We keep our games in the back of the family car and the games are usually played at Starbucks. It's such a regular occasion that when we walk in we're greeted with "Monopoly tonight?" .


We still mix the games up - but our family favorite is the classic Monopoly. Even my 7-year old has been playing since he was 5. We all have our favorite game pieces and some (Jacob) even have custom pieces - like a LEGO man.


Of course our boys could make change for a hundred since they were toddlers - and we credit the board games with that. But they learn a lot of other values from playing. Patience, teamwork, a bit of business sense - but mostly they learn about family. This is our time - game time. Family time - sitting, sipping a hot chocolate or mocha and spending an hour or two together playing a game.

Thanksgiving Day Bicycle Ride

Like I don't have enough to be thankful for... I got to go for a great bike ride this morning with my friend Josh and his girlfriend Lilian. We met a group of 40 or so from Swami's Bicycle Team for a 40 miler up through Camp Pendelton to San Clemente and back. It was a leisurely pace for us of around 15-16 mph. A bit slower than I'm used to going, but it is Thanksgiving Day and wasn't supposed to be a hammer session. I seem to have a hard time not going hard all the time, so this was probably a good thing for me.

I'll warn you first - this is a 30-second video shot with my cellphone, while riding - so the quality is exactly what you'd expect...pretty bad! But I wanted to try it and add it to my blog.

Anyway - I do have so much to be thankful for - and I am! I don't think I'll list them all here, but a short list would include God, family, friends, health, freedom and independence. Thank you everyone for your part in all of this!

Happy Holidays!

Here's a picture of Josh and Lily on the ride.

Sunday night

Sunday night... it was a long day. I got up at 5am to go the the Swap Meet to try and sell some of the things filling my garage. Our house is on the market and I'm trying to get lean...as far as clutter that is. In general, I'm the anti-packrat. I throw stuff away almost too quickly and then wish I'd kept it. But, I still manage to collect enough stuff overtime to fill my Trooper from front to back floor to ceiling.

Anyway, after a 6-hour stint at the lovely Oceanside Swap Meet, I was $500 the wealthier and 24 boxes of stuff lighter! WhooHooo

I grabbed some Chipotle for lunch and headed over the the Boy Scout Space Derby event. This is a fun tradition held anually by my youngest son's Scout Pack. They're balsa wood rockets that fly down a fishing line race track propelled by ....rubber band powered propellers.


My son, being the knucklehead he is, decided he intentionally didn't want to make it aerodynamic. He wanted it completely square, like block of wood it is when you get it out of the box. He also insisted we not paint it, or finish off nicely. He wanted to win the "Procrastinator" award (which is a real category), even though he planned well ahead to not finish the darn thing.

Amazingly he finished 4th overall out of some 60 rockets - beating many of the wafe like aero shaped rockets that obviously hours were spent on. It almost irritated people and only made our family chuckle. We spent literally 5 minutes on the entire project and he flew through 5 rounds with only 1 loss on the track before his final round for third place - which he lost. Anyway, it was fun.

I then hurried home for an online conference I was hosting for AuctionSelling101.com - our eBay education website. We coveed eBay stores today, where I instructed the attending students on how search is different for eBay stores than it is for fixed price and auction format listings.

Then we spent another hour where I literally opened up a store, and built it before them online in the conference room where I can share my desktop while talking to them in my headphones. Very cool stuff.

We had some dinner, and went over to Starbucks for an hour or so to play some Monopoly with the family. Then hit the grocery store and then home for the night.

Turns out we had a stellar day on eBay with the bicycle clothing! We sold 5 of our new cycling jackets and vests, several pairs of arm and leg warmers, toe covers and shoe covers and several pairs of shorts. Gross sales of over $350 for the day in just my bicycle clothing. Very good news!

We have an order already in that should be arriving in another week, and I have an order put together to submit next week. I sent out an email to my 400 plus past customers of cyling products directing them to my eBay store letting them know we had full inventory and lots of new items in stock. I guess it worked! :o)

Pop Warner Football

It's funny...I couldn't wait for this day, and now it's come and gone and I'm kind of sad. The day...well, the last day of Pop Warner Football of course!

I have two younger boys playing ball this year. It's the first year for both of them. My youngest has been bugging us for years to play. He's 7 and this is the first year he's allowed to play. He asked Santa for pads last year - a year before he could play on a team. So of course Santa brought both he and his 11 year old brother full football pads/helmets...the works.

They spent hours out in the yard tackling each other. I have to be honest - I loved it. I played football as a kid and hockey as I got older. I like contact sports. I'm one of those guys that likes the physical hitting. The crack of pads against each other. I know...sick right? :o)

Anyway, my younger son Jacob is around 40lbs lighter than his brother Dylan. But he would hit him hard - drilling him. He'd bring him down hard and delight in it. We couldn't wait until the season started to see him in his 'element'.

Dylan however is more of a technical type kid. A math wiz, a thinker...not so much of a physical type kid - though an excellent athlete. Dylan runs distance with ease and is great at Baseball. We just weren't sure how he'd hold up under the pressure of coaching and the physical punishment dolled out on the field. It turned out because he is fairly light weight for his age - that he played down a division in what they call "older-but-lighter".

Imagine our surprise when Jacob came home from practice saying it was "ok" not great. Saying he didn't want to play next year and showed general disinterest in playing. We watched practices from a distance - nothing going on at practice (like poor coaching or bullying). He is small for his age and was the second smallest on his team. At 7, he was also the youngest on his team with most of the boys being 8 or 9 years old. But we still thought he' revel in the sport. He just didn't.

He played his minimum required 10 plays a game, sometimes more. He was a wide receiver and they call that a 'skill' position, but really at this level it's a blocking position for sweeping runs, as the quarterbacks are usually too young and weak to pass the ball effectively, certainly not to a wide-out.

It was such a surprise to us, and to Jacob. He can't wait for Baseball to start and he's actually practicing with his tournament team once a week. He loves baseball and has played for several years at the All-Star level. I think he thought he'd be an All-Star at football, and when he wasn't it really took the wind out of his sails. We tried to encourage him, but the lesson in humility was a great lesson for this cocky young man. I think he'll play football again, even if it's not next season. He is an incredibly gifted athlete, and as he gets older we'll delight in seeing him put those skills to use in different arenas.

Ok, that's Jacob's story - but the real story here... the shocker, is Dylan. Dylan was immediately seen as one of the quicker boys on his team. He was the starting tight-end immediately and they used him often as an outlet for the QB. He LOVED playing tight-end. He loved practicing. He came home telling of the big 'hit' he delivered in practice or even the licking he took now and then. We were so happily surprised at his joy.

But wait - it gets better. It turns out, probably the best athlete on his team was the quarterback. And having at QB really limited his ability to run the ball - at least at this level. So they went to the next best they had - Dylan. After practicing for nearly 6 weeks at one position they switched him from tight-end to starting quarterback. He was absolutely dilerious with pride and joy! It was fun to watch him.

He did have some serious growing pains in his new position. Remeber, this was his first season ever playing football, and certainly had no practice at quarterback. But he's a smart kid, a good leader, and works hard. He had some rough weeks, dropping snap after snap. Pitching the ball back to non-existant running backs because he mis-called a play. But it got better, and better and soon things started to click.

The team didn't have a winning season overall, but for Dylan it was stellar. He started throwing completions, running the ball himself for 1st downs, and making good calls and plays with the old QB who was now his primary running back.

As the season wore on, attrition took its toll on the team and what was a lean team in terms of numbers dwindled. They found themselves short on players and soon Dylan was playing both ways - as starting QB and on defense as a safety or linebacker. He was leading his team, had worked through adversity and it shows in the way he carries himself. He talks "team" and "we", not me and I.

This is why kids play sports (in my opinion). They learn, grow, get stronger and smarter and learn about life while they have a ton of fun. Football...I love it - can you tell?

That's a happy kid!

Adventure Racing

So some of that weight loss I wrote about in my last post came from an extensive amount of exercise. Over the past 20 years I've raced bicycles, played semi-pro paintball, done triathlons, raced inline skates for RollerBlade around the country, swam, ran and rode all kinds of things. But this past year, after losing the bulk of my weight, I started doing more triathlons.

I completed 6 or 7 triathlons this season - mostly sprint distance and a few international distance. These races typically start with a swim of up to 1000 meters, followed immediately by a bicycle ride of up to 25 miles, followed by a run of up to 10k (6.2 miles). Some have different formats or distances, but that's the typicaly scenario.

I also competed in several swimming events including a 5k open water swim...that's a 3.1 mile Ocean swim for you metrically challenged folks. :o)

Well after having done the triathlons, bicycle racing, swimming...everything else I was of course looking for the 'next thing' - the evolution of my sports.

Let me shift gears a bit and come back to this. About a year ago - or more, I started planning a move for my family. We're moving to Big Bear, California. It's a small mountain town of around 5,000 people (at the most), East of San Bernardio/Los Angeles, California. It's gorgeous up there at almost 7,000 feet. We spend nearly all our vacation time there hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, mountain biking, skiing, snowboarding and kayaking and boating on Big Bear Lake. Nic and I work at home full-time and we can do our work anywhere...so why not Big Bear? Oh yes, I almost forgt to tell you... I can buy a house for around 200,000 dollars less than where I live now! Anyway, with the mountain aspects coming into play I thought Adventure Racing was the natural progression for me...

Ok, back to the 'evolution of my sports'. Along the way I heard about Adventure Racing. It's a triathlon "plus" if you will. Like a triathon the distances and disciplines vary, but essentially here's what they're about. You will Run/Trek/Hike, Swim/Paddle, Bike/Mountain Bike, Climb/Rappel, as well as normally do some other tasks requiring teamwork or using your brain - like a mental type puzzle or riddle - oh yeh, and you do all this while navigating using a compass, topographic map and coordinates - no GPS. You can do them solo, but typically you're on a team of 2-4 people. They're a team event with everyone having to stay within 100 yards of one another at all times. They last anywhere from 6 hours to 6 days...yes nearly a week!

Well I got my first taste this summer with an Urban Adventure Race in San Diego. My buddy Josh and I finished 2nd place overall. This was essentially just a bike race with some fun events thrown in the middle. At approximately 5 mile intervals we had to walk on stilts, ride a big wheel through an obstacle course, jump on a giant hippity-hop, do a bean-bag toss, and do a wheel barrow race with a teammate in the wheelbarrow. It was fun and got me thinking about a 'real' adventure race doing the things I like and excel at - Mtn. Biking, trail running, kayaking...

I got my first chance last month in the Lake Hodges Adventure Race. It was billed as a 12-hour

race. Here's what the race entailed: First we kayaked 1.5 miles across the lake and back to retrieve a small foam ball (again - the checkpoints are not given - just the coordinates and you have to navigate using a map/compass to find them). Upon returning you carry the small foam ball on a golf tee around a short course without it falling off. Seems easy enough unless you just kayaked for 1/2 hour and your arms are shaking and you're out of breath. My two teammates Louis and Cory and I all did fine and soon we were off to cover around 20 miles of terrain on our Mtn. Bikes. We used the coordinates of checkpoints and a map to follow trails to the 6 checkpoints we needed. The checkpoints took us to the top of the tallest hill in the area - no small feat on the bikes and negotiating the course with the other 75 competitors. Cory got a flat on the way back, but that only set us back about 3-4 minutes.

At this point we were instructed to build a small waterfall out of pvc tubing - 20 pieces max that had been provided. There was a funnel at one end and a bucket at the other. Our goal - fill the bucket with 3 dixie cups with water from the lake 50 yards away. So for 10 minutes we ran to the lake, and back with our 6 oz. of water - pouring them in the funnel, having it run down our version of the waterfall we constructed and into the bucket. When the bucket overflowed we got our next set of 3 checkpoints to navigate. They were on the water...

Back in the 'yaks for another 5 miles of kayaking. By the end of this leg of the race my arms were ready to fall off! But we made good time and passed several teams on the water. This leg was nearly 2 hours on the water...

Along the way you have to remember to eat and drink or you'll simply run out of gas in a 12 hour race of non-stop exertion. We all did well at this with an alarm we set to chime every hour to remind us to eat drink.

When we got out of the boats we got our next 5 checkpoints to navigate. They had to be done on foot. Trail running/hiking only. According to the map it would be around 6-8 miles of ground to cover. And off we went. We found the first two checkpoints right away. The next two proved to be challenging as they were each at the very top of two large peaks of at least 1000 feet of climbing each...ouch! Eventually we found them and hit the last checkpoint on the way back to the Start/Finish line.

What a great feeling it was to be jogging down that last bit of trail and see the finish. I was seriously pooped out. It took us 7 hours to complete the entire course and we finished 1st place for the "Masters" group - which means our teams averag age was over 40. :o) We finished 2nd for 3-4 person teams and 6th overall. Not bad at all.

This truly was an adventure, and I can't wait for my next AR!

A Landmark Day

Ok, it's not really a 'landmark day' but it's a change. For the past two years this Blog has been about eBay and Internet Marketing - hence it's old name... eBay Jay. But I've found I really wanted to write and share more and so I've decided to make it my 'catch all' Blog. You may learn more than you wanted to know about me, but you're taking your chances reading my Blog anyway.

So - Bubba Jay it is from here on out.

Ok, let's get started with the details...lol. Guess who these folks are?

Wow, that's right - it's

Nicole and I... 180lbs ago. Yup - I lost 105lbs and Nic lost 75lbs over the course of the last year and a half. Actually we lost it all in a year, but have maintained that weight for another 6

months now. Here's an after shot from a few months ago.

I actually wrote a short 'story' about our weight loss and entered it into a contest that Weight Watchers had... for most Inspirational Story. And we won first place in our region, out of a few thousand in the US. A local news channel from NBC came out to interview us and were were on the news.

It was kind of fun. Here's a link to the NBC website and you can check out the short 1 minute video.

http://video.nbcsandiego.com/player/?id=160971

Ok, enough fat talk. I'll be back soon with more. Or as my Weight Watchers meeting leader Melanie says "we'll see less of you next time".

eBay Success

And the hits just keep on coming...

That's right - more good news on the eBay selling front. I've been importing my own Bicycle clothing line from overseas and am having great success with the full line. I've recently received and practically sold out of arm warmers, leg warmers, knee warmers, bib shorts, shoe covers, toe warmers and more.

Within a week of getting my order and getting them online, I'm nearly out of all of them and have already placed another $1000 order. This is great news as the magazine business has been slowing steadily over the past 6 months with increased selling restrictions and increased competition.

I'm working on long sleeve jerseys, and have jackets, and vests coming in my next order in additon to more of my staple shorts for men and women. Pretty exiciting for us - having this success with our clothing line.

We're also working on a deal to open a US Distributorship for some swim related products from the UK. This would help fill out our whole triathlon line.

I am almost done making my own race number belt and will buy in bulk the materials needed for that project. In addition to the cord locks I wrote about previously I've also already ordered bulk elastic lace and small zip lock baggies to package 'speed laces' for runners and triathletes. It's all coming together nicely!

It's so easy

Selling on eBay is so easy. On our new site AuctionSelling101.com people are always asking, "what should I sell?", or "what's a good product to try and sell?". I've given a list of basics to ask yourself to evaluate product ideas, but people always ask the same question.

They make it so much harder than they need to. I know I've been selling on eBay for years...7 or 8 now. But it's just not that hard.

Example: The other day I was looking for things to sell. I am doing a lot of triathlons lately, and I already sell bicycle shorts, jerseys and other cycling related items. So I did a search for triathlon to see what I'd find.

I found several things under that heading that I could sell. One was a very simple small item. Cord locks. You know the kind you push the little button and stick a string through it. Check out the pictures below. Someone was already selling them, but for $4.00 I think, plus shipping. I know that's highway robbery, so there's a potential item.

So that's what they are and from the image you probably get the idea.

Runners and triathletes use them to avoid tying their shoes when they're in a hurry, or simply for the convenience of not having to tie them. I actually used these for one of my young boys for a year or so before he was able to tie his shoes...they worked great.

Anyway, I figured heck, it's a small piece of plastic. How much could it possibly cost? So I did a Google search. The search returned hundreds of items. I also went to an International Trade site I've used before called Alibaba.com. It's a free site and you can import things from overseas.

But the bottom line was I found them in lots of 100 from a place 100 miles from my house for about .30 cents per pair. I ordered them online, and had them in two days. I took a few photos - made a listing and put them up on eBay.

I made a fixed price listing for a pair of them for $2.99 and FREE SHIPPING. They were up for about 1 hour before they sold. Ok, .30 cents my cost, two stamps and an envelope to mail them - that's another $75 cents and I'm into them for just barely over a dolloar and I sold them for three. I net $2.00. Not a killing - I get it. But a few hours later I sold two pairs to another person. So I made $6.00 that first day. I figure if I only make $10 a week, that's $40/month. Again - not making a killing here, but it's just one little simple item.

You get a dozen of these type of little things that you source yourself and then you're making $500/month. Now that may not make a difference in your life, but for some it could be life changing... a car payment or the rent!

Oh yeh, if I import them myself from China I have to buy 5000 or 10000 at a pop, but they end up costing me around 5 cents a pair instead of 30 cents a pair. Of course it takes longer and I have to assume that I'll actually sell that many, but I could put them up on eBay in lots of 100 for $100 making them only $1.00 each and I'd make an even greater profit margin. I'm sure you get the idea.

Let's recap....

It's EASY. Just get busy...

Bicycle Jerseys and more!

They finally arrived! If you've been reading my posts you know I've been having my own cycling shorts made and imported to sell online. Well I ordered jerseys quite some time ago and they've finally arrived.

They're selling fairly well on eBay in both men's and women's styles.

I also got some bib short samples as well as arm and leg warmers so we should be stocked up for winter.

eBay Dance?

If you own your own website you've probably heard of the 'Google Dance'. If you haven't, let me explain.

Google updates it's search engine index periodically. This normally turns the whole ranking of sites on the world's most popular search engine on end, wreaking havoc with site owners as their rankings are disrupted. This is the 'Dance'.

Ina Steiner of http://www.auctionbytes.com/ reported that eBay will soon be delivering it's search results by 'Best Match' results by seller quality (PowerSeller status and selling track record) instead of strictly by relevance. eBay did not explain what selling track record meant, but it seems likely to be based on Detailed Seller Ratings that were rolled out recently in Feedback 2.0.

Currently, customers see default search results by "Time Ending Soonest," so everyone has an equal chance of showing up at the top of results as listings end. But I believe eBay may change the default sort to Best Match in an effort to serve up more relevant, quality listings. (Currently shoppers on eBay may select Best Match from a drop-down menu on results pages.)

This is apparently being tested in a few categories on eBay France.

I think this means, your item will show up, but rather than showing up at the top of results when your listing is about to end, it may be buried on a lower page throughout the entire duration of your listing.

Steiner says "If eBay implements Best Match as the default sort, I think some sellers will be devastated. Shoppers, too, may be annoyed, particularly in some categories, and it will be interesting to see if they change their preferences to "Time: Ending Soonest," though eBay is not likely to share this information with us.

My advice is to be sure and do your best to optimize your listings for whatever changes eBay plans to roll out in the next few months, and get ready for a rocky ride."

You can read the entire article here http://www.auctionbytes.com/cab/abu/y207/m08/abu0196/s01

Preparing ahead of time sounds like the ticket. I've already begun myself. Pray for the best and Prepare for the worst.

AuctionSelling101.com

Yup - it's live! We launched a few weeks ago and have had a great response to our initial offer. We already have several hundred members and the discussion forums are active. This past weekend we also had our first live conference with around 30 members in attendance.



Very cool stuff. We're getting ready to add another 8-10 videos in the next week or so. We have more convferences lined up in our virtual classroom, and will be breaking them up into ability levels. Check it out if you get a chance HERE .

eBay Jay?

A good friend of mine left me a voicemail the other day and she asked me "What's the point of being eBay Jay if you never post to your Blog?". Good point.

She was right. I haven't posted here for literally 6 months! That's ridiculous isn't it. It's not like I haven't been busy, but who isn't? We're all busy.

So as that little girl in Poltergeist says... "I'm baaaack" or something like that. :o)

Ok down to business. Have I been busy? Absolutely!

I updated my links on the right. I removed a bunch and added a new one. The new one is http://www.auctionselling101.com/ . What is it? It's a entire membership site devoted to teaching other people how to successfully sell on eBay. It's going to launch soon, but we had an initial membership available for SpaceHogs members and members of the Warrior Forum as a WSO. We let in 100 early birds to get some feedback on the site, get some affiliates to help us promote the official launch and get some activity going in the discussion forums.

The site is really awesome and our greatest project yet. I say "our" as in me and Chris. That's Black & Blue Marketing, our Corporation and the team that launched the super popular http://www.spacehogs.net/ . Anyway, we're very excited about it.

What else is new? Still doing the magazines though sales have slowed over the past 6 months. There is soooo much competition it's crazy! I did finalize some tools specifically for magazine sellers. I offer them on a subscription basis on this new site of mine http://www.magazinesellersresources.com/ . If you sell magazines, these tools I had custom coded will turn days of work into literally 1/2 hour - literally!

On my other eBay username we have been going through some changes. First as some of our Adidas stock was slowly dwindling we decided to source some new stuff. First we got some Nike shoes, which sold very well, but we had a few issues with customs from importing them and then had some claims of them not being genuine Nike products. Now we did get a smoking hot price on them, but they look like Nike's, they feel like Nike's, I even wore mine for 6 months with no problems, but we didn't want to take any chances or possibly mislead anyone so we just pulled the plug on that whole project.

Next we decided we needed another line of products. Something that wasn't a name brand. Something no one could say wasn't genuine. I've been selling bicyle clothing for years off and on, mostly from my own stock and then stuff I'd find at the thrift store or swap meets. So I started looking overseas in Taiwan, China and places like that. I found a great supplier that would make me my own line of bicycle shorts and other cycling apparrel for a super price. I've ordered and received several orders of a few hundred pieces each with great results. Our cost is low so I can price them right on eBay and they're selling very well. Here's a picture of the men's shorts:

The JN is for Jay and Nicole...awwww sweet isn't it? :o) Anyway, hopefully it's the start of something great and profitable as we grow the line into triathlon gear, jerseys, arm and leg warmers, tights, gloves...all the cycling specific clothing.

I think that about wraps up the update. Still need to get back to SpaceHogs.net and get it updated, and keep plugging along on the other fronts. Hope to see you online!

Shooting Star... 10K

So they call it the flying star. You get one when you get 10,000 unique feedbacks on eBay. And I got mine. :o)

I know it's a small picture, but if you look closely it says 10,006. I actually have over 14,700 positive feedbacks, so that means over 4700 returning customers. Not bad.

What does it all mean? Not much really. Just a milestone I'd been shooting for, for quite some time. According to eBay it puts me in the top 1% of all members...for feedback that is.

25,000 anyone?

Entrepreneurial Spirit: Alive and Well

Wow, I'm almost embarrassed as I see I haven't posted to my blog in 2 months. Of course it was the two busiest months of the year. Not just for me, but for most of you too I'd imagine. We went from Halloween, straight into Thanksgiving, followed by Christmas and then shortly thereafter New Years.

During that time I launched a highly successful website with my partner "Mr. Black". We're Black & Blue Marketing Corp., and the site is www.SpaceHogs.net . It's an entire membership site dedicated to teaching others how to market to the Social Networking crowd - a.k.a. MySpace.

My eBay Education Specialist Certification has been put the test as I've been teaching literally 2-3 private lessons a week lately. I have a new Trading Assistant client, a new car dealer to list cars for, another new site of my own I'm working on, developing more tools for magazine sellers ... what else. Ah yes - I've started importing products from China too. People always ask me how I keep track and I have no good answer. I just do. And sometimes... I just don't :o)

If you've read my blog before you'll probably recall a previous post about what I called EADD, or Entrepreneurial Attention Deficit Disorder. Well I was reading an old Forbes magazine today....June of '06. That alone should tell you how many directions I'm headed...I'm reading 6 month old magazines 'cause I can't keep up!

Anyway, in the Forbes there was an article by Rich Karlgaard. He writes a regular article called Digital Rules for Forbes. He also has his own blog at http://blogs.forbes.com/digitalrules or you can check out his homepage at www.karlgaard.com . ANYWAY, he wrote a great article called "Blessed Are the Hypomanic".

I won't go into the whole thing, but I wanted to quote a bit of it...that explains so very eloquently what I feel about myself and this whole EADD thing I've tried to explain to others, but feel I muddle through.

Rich writes:

Last week our Preacher spoke about Spiritual Gifts. She identified a dozen or so, Leadership, evangelism, empathy and faith were at the top of the list - just what you'd expect in a church sermon. She surprisingly also mentioned entrepreneurial personality. "Some people are gifted at starting things," she said. "Sadly, we anal-retentive types are too quick to come along and criticize entrepreneurs for not finishing their projects. That's wrong. The entrepreneurial gift isn't to manage and administer. It's to start things."

Very true. Some entrepreneurs I know are good at managing and administering, but not many. Most are a mix of visionary and hustler, with a dash of attention deficit disorder thrown in. They see opportunities the rest of us overlook. They are driven by a breathless energy to assemble resources in pursuit of those opportunities. Then soon after their baby is toddling, they get bored."

Rich goes on to explain more about where some people feel that entrepreneurial spirit comes from, but I won't quote the whole thing. I just really felt like he was talking about me in many ways...and it felt good to not feel like I was the only one who gets things going and moves on to the next...

Anyway, that's my thought for the day...actually my quote of someone else's thoughts, but I still recognized the brilliance in his writing, right? :O)

I'll try to get some more regular posts going here shortly. Have a great week, and try and stick to those dang resolutions you made a week ago!